Rediscovery
by ForeverDivergent
Summary: Tris is a junior in high school. At one moment, she's at the top of the world. In the next, she's at the very bottom. Tris needs to rediscover who she is, but that's kind of hard when you don't remember who you are in the first place. Modern day AU. Swearing, some violence.
1. Chapter 1

**New story guys. This is my last attempt at a Divergent High story. The first two tries didn't not go the way I wanted. Hopefully this one is a little better.**

 ***I reposted the chapter because it came to my attention that I kept calling Tris, Carter. Sorry for the confusion. Carter is a character from another story of mine.**

"Alright," Coach said during the timeout. "We've got a three point lead with two minutes left in the game. We hold on to this lead and we're on to the championship game on Saturday. Hold the ball as long as you can. We can't give them any extra possessions. Only take a shot if you absolutely know it's going in."

"Yes, Coach!" the girls chanted.

"How about we just give the ball to Tris?" Someone suggested. "She's the best ball handler on the team."

"It doesn't matter who has the ball as long as they keep it safe. You're all good ball handlers. Be confident in that. But if you really want to give it to Tris, make it a good pass. Alright let's break it down. Rebels on three!"

"ONE!"

"TWO!"

"THREE!"

"REBELS!"

Before she could walk back onto the court, the coach pulled Tris aside.

"Do what you have to do," he muttered.

Tris simply nodded then jogged back out towards her team.

"Let's get a stop, ladies," she instructed. "They get no shot."

The players set up their defense and waited for the other team to inbound the ball. As soon as they did, Tris headed towards the point guard who had the ball. The guard tried to cross her over, but Tris managed to get a hand in and poke the ball away. She got control of it and sprinted down to the other end, getting as easy layup before anyone could stop her.

The Rebel supporters went crazy. The basket made it a two possession game with a little over a minute to go. The fans could smell a victory, but the players couldn't let up just yet.

On the next defensive possession, one of Tris' teammates lost sight of the player she was guarding, allowing the other team to get a two-point jumper, bringing the lead back down to three. The ball was inbounded to Tris. With a quick peek at the scoreboard, she found that there was about forty-five seconds left. She hovered just inside their half of the court, dribbling in place to waste time.

"Get on her!" She heard the opposing coach yell.

As soon as someone began to run up to her, Tris crossed over twice to get some space. She passed to an open teammate that was just beyond the three point line.

 _Forty_

The ball was passed around some more, being kept away from the greedy hands of the opponent.

 _Thirty-two_

A pass was tipped, the defense managing to pick it up. They started their run back towards their end of the court.

 _Twenty-five_

Tris got up on the player she was defending, making sure that she wasn't going to get the ball under any circumstances. The ball was worked around the court, trying to find the slimmest of openings.

 _Seventeen_

Someone attempted to drive into the lane, causing the defense to collapse on her. She kicked it back out to a wide open player just beyond the three point line.

 _Twelve_

Everyone watched with held breath as the ball soared towards the hoop. If it went in the game would be tied, if it didn't there would be a very short amount of time for the opposing team to try and score if they managed to get the rebound.

 _Eight_

The ball bounces off of the back of the rim. All at once, everyone in the let out a collective breath. The ball dropped in front of Tris and she snatched it before anyone else could grab it.

 _Three_

Tris dribbled away from the other players, a huge grin plastered on her face. When the buzzer went off, she threw the ball in the air and let out a victorious yell. Her teammates gathered around her and cheered along.

"And there you have it! The Divergent Rebels advance to the state championship game for the first time in school history!" The announcer broadcasted. The two teams shook hands for the last time and the Rebels met in the middle of the court to address the student section that had shown up for the game.

"WHO ARE WE?" The girls yelled.

"THE REBELS!" The students roared.

"AND WHAT DO WE DO?"

"WIN!"

Tris and her team laughed all the way back to the locker room. They were feeling euphoric. Nothing felt better than proving themselves on such a big stage. Their coach nearly broke down during the huddle because he was so overcome with emotion.

"Now remember girls," he started to say in conclusion. "You still have to go to school tomorrow. The bus will leave promptly at four o'clock. Bring a set of practice clothes. We will be staying in the hotel for two nights so pack appropriately. Shower up and get back on the bus!"

The girls were too excited to be upset that they still had to go to school the next day. There was some assembly that was mandatory for all students and it couldn't be switched. No one was really sure what it was about.

Fortunately, the bus ride back to Divergent High was only an hour long. They were able to get back at a reasonable time so they wouldn't be overtired tomorrow. Tris said goodbye to her teammates and walked towards her car, anxious to get home and tell her parents about the game. It was pretty typical that they weren't there, but Tris knew it wasn't their fault. Tris' father was a government official while her mother was a surgeon, so their time was fairly limited.

When she pulled into the driveway her father was out almost immediately to help bring her bags into the house.

"How'd it go, sweetheart?" He asked.

"We won!" Tris exclaimed. "We're going to the championship game!"

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. "I'm so proud of you, Beatrice. You've worked so hard to get your team to where you are now."

"Dad," Tris chuckled. "Don't get all sappy on me. And please, don't bring Beatrice back. She was gone in middle school."

"Sorry," her father said. "I can't help but feel a little nostalgic, _Tris."_

The two walked into the house together, chatting about the highlights of the game. Tris' mother was in the kitchen and was overjoyed when she heard the good news. After a few minutes of her parents talking about how proud they were, Tris slipped away to talk to her brother.

She knocked softly on the slightly open door.

"Yeah?" She heard her brother yell. Tris poked her head in and saw he was at his desk finishing up his homework.

"Hey Caleb."

"Tris! How'd the game go? I'm sorry I couldn't be there."

"We won, so you can make it up to me by coming to the championship game on Saturday," she teased. "How'd your debate team do today?"

"Not too hot," he admitted. "Definitely the worst match we've had so far, but enough about that. Congratulations Tris. I'll definitely be there on Saturday."

"Good," Tris said. "I'm going to bed, so I'll see you in the morning."

"Goodnight sis."

* * *

When Tris woke up the next morning she felt ecstatic. Most wouldn't be this excited for school, but it was Friday and tomorrow she'd be playing the game she loved most for the chance to win a trophy. Quickly, Tris got dressed in a simple yet somewhat dressy outfit, applied a limited amount of makeup, and straightened her hair. She wasn't the prettiest girl at school, but looks didn't really matter. Tris stood out in her own way.

There was a honk outside so Tris quick grabbed her bag and walked out the door. Her boyfriend, Matthew, was waiting in his car for her. She hopped in and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks for driving me to school today," Tris told him.

"No problem, babe," he grinned, flashing her a million dollar smile. His black hair was tousled in a way that suggested he had just gotten out of bed, and his brown eyes had the familiar playful sparkle in them. The pair had been together for about six months. They met over the summer and made things official just before school started.

"It's chilly today," Tris said, making small talk on the way to school. She would have driven herself but she didn't want her car left in the parking lot all weekend, and she did like the extra time spent with Matthew. He was moody lately. Tris wasn't giving him all he wanted, even though he said he'd wait for her.

"It is February," he teased. "There's still snow on the ground. It's bound to be cold."

"You know what I mean." Tris playfully smacked him on the arm. "It's been warming up recently, but today it dropped back down."

The two bantered back and forth the rest of the way. When they pulled into the lot they were swarmed by Matthews's friends. Tris didn't really understand why he liked them. They were vulgar and violent, but Matthew saw something in them that Tris evidently didn't. She had her own friends but Matthew despised them, so she rarely got to see them at school anymore.

"I gotta go to the locker room," Tris informed Matthew, grabbing her bags and starting the short walk. She could help but notice, however, that Lauren went straight to Matthew as soon as she was gone. Tris understood; Matthew was a very attractive guy, but he was obviously not single so why did Lauren continue the charade. She trusted her boyfriend though, he knew how to hold his own.

Along the way Tris met up with Christina, her best friend. She was on the basketball team with Tris, so try as he might, Matthew couldn't prevent Tris from hanging out with her.

"God," Christina said in disgust. "Doesn't she get the hint?"

Tris looked back at Lauren and Matthew one more time, seeing what Christina was talking about. She was laughing at something he said, and he was smiling from ear to ear.

"He doesn't help, Tris. He's a boy so he thinks it's flattering. You have to tell him to stop talking to her and leading her on."

"He's not leading her on," Tris argued. "But he does seem to like the attention."

Christina simply rolled her eyes and continued walking. On their way, Tris tripped and stumbled into a passerby.

"Sorry," she mumbled, picking up her stuff and not knowing who she bumped into. The person crouched down to help her and she came face to face with Four Eaton. His deep blue eyes held her gaze steadily, revealing know emotion.

"Careful, Tris." He said quietly. Four handed her the remainder of her stuff and walked away. Tris watched him for a second. That boy was a mystery that no one has solved yet.

"What was that about?" Christina asked, snapping Tris out of her reverie.

"Nothing," Tris insisted. "I bumped into him and he helped pick up my stuff."

"Really?" Christina said, shocked. "I've never even seen him speak to a girl, let alone help one. He must be in love with you."

"Shut up, Chris," Tris laughed. Four, whose real name was Tobias, was the mayor of Chicago's son. He was a stellar athlete-football, basketball, and baseball-who hardly talked to anyone. Zeke Pedrad, the polar opposite of Four, was his only friend. He went by Four because that was the number on all of his jerseys.

The two girls finally arrived in the locker room, meeting up with some of their other teammates as well. They chatted about the game as the put their things in their lockers. As soon as they exited, an announcement went over the PA system.

"At this time, will the juniors and seniors please report to the auditorium. Thank you."

"So we finally get to know what this oh-so important meeting is about." Christina said to no one in particular. The girls filed in, making sure to get a seat somewhat close to the front.

At once, the entire room went silent when they realized who the guest speaker was.

It was the mayor of Chicago.

Marcus Eaton.

 **What? Tris and Matthew? Preposterous. All just part of the story, so don't worry. Let me know what you think so far!**

 **~A**


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow here we go. I'm super excited about this story and hopefully you are too. The beginning moves kind of fast just because I'm trying to get the point. Things slow down a bit in the later chapters.**

"Good morning!" Marcus boomed. A few students grumbled a greeting back, either too tired to deal with his loudness or just don't want to be here in general. "For those of you who don't know, I am Marcus Eaton, mayor of our beautiful home, Chicago. Today I have come to talk to you about something very important."

"I doubt it," someone in Tris' row mumbled. She looked over and saw that it was Peter Hayes, one of Matthew's friends. He was one of the guys who Tris particularly did not like. He was a loud-mouth jerk who acted very degrading towards women. Tris rolled her eyes at the comment and directed her attention back to the mayor.

"Divergent High has been selected as the recipient for the $20,000 grant the city awards to one school every five years."

The auditorium erupted in applause and whistles. There were a lot of schools in Chicago, so receiving this grant was a very big deal. It meant our technology would be upgraded, the sports facilities would be fixed, the arts department would get new supplies and props, etc. It was a big opportunity for our school to advance and grow, becoming a top program that parents want their kids to attend.

"On behalf of the city of Chicago," Marcus announced. "I'm proud to present Divergent High a check for $20,000 for being this year's recipient of the Forward Education Grant!"

A massive check was brought in and presented to Ms. Matthews, the principal, and the students erupted again. Students of Divergent High were very proud people, and took a lot of pride in being one of the best schools not just in Chicago, but in the state as well. Receiving this grant was just icing on the cake.

"That's all I have for you today. Thank you!" Marcus concluded. He walked off the stage and Ms. Matthews took his place.

"You are now free to report to the remainder of your first hour class. The schedule will resume as normal. Have a good day everyone."

All at once the students tried to exit the auditorium as fast as they could. Like usual it just made everything go slower. Tris sighed as her and Christina were pushed forward even though there was no place for them to go. Finally, they broke free of the crowd and were able to get to their lockers.

"I really don't want to go to English," Christina whined.

"Nobody does," Tris said. "Ms. Reyes may try her hardest, but there is no possible way to making writing essays about _The Crucible_ fun."

"Have you started yours?" Christina asked.

"I'm about halfway done," Tris told her. She mumbled something about how annoying it was that Tris always did her homework on time. Christina wasn't a bad student, she just didn't like putting in a lot of effort.

"Bring your English with you tonight and I'll help you start it when we get to the hotel," Tris told her.

"You are the greatest human being alive." Christina praised. The whole way to English, Tris laughed as Christina gave her endless compliments.

*break*

By lunch time, Tris was ready for the day to be over. After lunch, thankfully, she only had two more classes: study hall and teacher's aide. While waiting in the food line, Uriah Pedrad, her goofball of a friend, came up to wait with her. He smiled as he approached then suddenly looked terrified and looked all around.

"Sorry Tris," he squeaked. "I can't be seen with you because Matthew will pummel me!"

Tris laughed out loud. Matthew absolutely hated Uriah. He was convinced Uriah was in love with Tris, even though Uriah had a girlfriend. Tris and Uri just had that chemistry where they could be best friends without the possibility of ever getting together. With Uriah's wit and Tris' sharp tongue, they made quite the duo.

"He's just really insecure," Tris joked. In reality there was nothing insecure about Matthew. He was just very territorial, something that bothered Tris at times.

"He needs to get over himself," Uriah said, only half joking. He thought Tris should drop Matthew as soon as possible. Tris always assured him that she could handle herself and knew a side of Matthew that he didn't.

The two joked until they got their food, ten went their separate ways. Matthew wanted Tris to stop sitting at her old table and sit at his instead. At first she didn't, but eventually she agreed just to get him to stop arguing about it.

As soon as she sat down, Matthew initiated an argument. "Why are you still talking to him?" He snapped.

"Who? Uriah?" Tris asked, incredulous. "How many times do I have to say that he is just a friend and also has a girlfriend?"

"That is obviously just a cover!" Matthew insisted, his voice starting to rise. "He wants to get in your pants and by the looks of it, you want to let him in!"

"Are you fucking serious?" Tris said, keeping her voice deadly calm. "I control who I let in my pants. Uriah's not getting in, especially because he is in a relationship and so am I. And guess who else isn't? You. I know you talk big to your dumb friends, but why don't you tell them the truth right now. Tell them how you've never, not even once, 'tapped' this." She gestured to herself at the last part.

All of his friends were shocked. Tris wasn't stupid, she knew how guys talked. This time she wasn't going to let it slide.

"You fucking bitch," he nearly whispered.

"Yes. Big bad Matthew and his girlfriend haven't done the deed yet. How scandalous." Tris continued, still keeping her demeanor. "And while we're on the topic, why don't we talk about you and Lauren." At the mention of her name, Lauren's eyes sharpened into a glare. She opened her mouth to say something, but Tris cut her off. "You think I don't see how she climbs all over you when I leave? And you think I don't notice how you let her? You must be pretty flattered that a girl is going after you even though you're supposed to be taken. Does it make you feel like a man, Matthew? Well everyone knows that the only thing worse than a slut that goes after people in relationships, is a guy that encourages it and lets it happen."

Tris stood up to walk away, not expecting Matthew to say anything or go after her. Lauren, however, must have been pretty insulted because she stopped Tris in her tracks.

"You're just jealous that-"

"Of what?" Tris laughed mirthlessly. "Of you? Of how many guys you've been with? Not a chance." She turned back to the table. "Do you guys wanna know a funny story? 1. Lauren's nipples are pierced. 2. They're infected because she hooked up with a guy with strep throat. Have fun with that."

Tris turned away, feeling the smallest amount of satisfaction when she heard the table roast Lauren. She looked back once and saw Matthew staring after her, a stone cold expression on his face. Tris sat down with the group at her old table. They all greeted her with high fives and whoops of encouragement. The whole cafeteria was staring at her in shock and awe, most of them extremely happy Matthew and Lauren were finally put in their place.

"That was badass." Uriah cheered.

Tris smiled. "Watch it, Uri. I know you're just trying to get in my pants." The whole table erupted in laughter, knowing that wasn't even remotely true.

"Yo, Zeke," Uriah yelled. "We should give Tris the double feature just to show how much we love her!"

"Wait, what's the double feature?" Tris asked, a bit nervous.

Marlene, Uriah's girlfriend, answered her question. "It's a twin thing. You kinda just have to go with it."

Zeke went to Tris' left side while Uriah went to the right. Both of them planted a kiss on her cheek and pulled her into a bone crushing hug. Tris gasped when they finally released her.

"Wow, that was… interesting," she said while wiping off her cheeks. She looked over and saw that Four was looking at her. He held her gaze for a moment before looking down at his tray. Tris brushed it off and went back to laughing with her friends.

*break*

"Jesus!" Tris exclaimed. "He won't stop!"

Christina, who was laying on the bed in the hotel room, looked up from her essay. "Matthew again?" She asked.

"Yeah, he just texted me some bullshit about how sorry he was and that I need to text him back now." Tris said.

"Tell him that you're done." Christina told her. "He's a douche and needs to have his heart broken to figure it out."

Tris sighed, knowing that she should. Part of her didn't want to end it though. Matthew could be really sweet when he wasn't being so insecure. "I'll let him simmer a little bit more. Giving him the silent treatment might just do the trick and he'll figure out what an ass he is."

"You are going to end it though, right?" Christina asked. When Tris didn't answer she added, "Tris, he treats you like shit. He gets mad just because you're not ready to do certain things, he doesn't like your friends and gets pissed when you hang out with them, and he lets Lauren drape herself all over him like she's a piece of clothing."

She was right in every way. Tris needed to end it. "I'll do it tomorrow after the game," she conceded. "After we win, I'll be too happy to be sad about him."

"That's the spirit!" Christina laughed. "Now come over here and help me figure out where to put this rhetorical device. But first, what is a rhetorical device again?"

*break*

The game was going fantastic. Everyone was in sync in a way they hadn't been all season. It seemed as if every shot they took went in. It was a shock when they missed. The Divergent Rebels were well on their way to winning the first state championship. It was the start of the fourth quarter and they were up by eighteen points. Tris knew she had scored quite a bit, but she didn't know an exact number. The stats didn't matter to her as long as they won.

"No letting up!" She said to the girls in the huddle. "We keep driving them into the ground. Show them who the better team is."

The other team was losing hope. Getting a beat down this bad in the state championship game was embarrassing. It wouldn't be hard to keep pushing them back. The two teams started off the quarter by trading baskets. Tris wasn't playing at the moment, but was enjoying watching how good her team was playing. At about the five minute mark Tris went back into the game. They put in the teams three seniors as well so they could get a few more minutes in the final game of their careers.

Regardless of score or time, the Rebels kept playing as hard as they could. Tris dribbled down the court, looking for an open player. The other team kept doubling up on her so she was having trouble finding an opening. She managed to split the defense and pass the ball to an open player. They took the shot, but it bounced off the rim. On its way down it hit the foot of one of Tris' teammates and began to roll away.

Tris dove to the ground to try and prevent it from going out of bounds. At the same time, an opposing player was running in the same direction and couldn't avoid the diving Tris. The girl tripped, and in an attempt to find her footing, stepped directly on Tris' head and shoulder.

Her head was slammed into the hardwood floor the same time her shoulder was pushed in the opposite direction. Tris didn't comprehend any of this. She couldn't. Everything had gone black.

She was falling.

Losing herself.

In the darkness.

 **How was it? Please let me know by dropping a little review in the box below. I'd really appreciate the feedback! Hope you enjoyed it.**

 **~A**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys, sorry it's been a while. Finals week is coming up. Just so you know, it switches to first person in this chapter, and will remain in first person.**

The girl lying in the bed saw nothing. Knew nothing. Felt nothing. She was dead to the world and it was dead to her. The conversation going on around her was not heard by her ears.

"Why hasn't she woken up yet?" The girl's father demanded an answer. His wife put a hand on his arm, trying to comfort him.

"I told you, Andrew," she said. "It's the medicine. They're weaning her off of it."

"They started that three days ago!" The man said angrily. "She's been unconscious for a week!"

"If you keep raising your voice and refuse to listen to anything I say, I'm not going to bother trying to explain it to you anymore." The woman said quietly.

He sat down, resting his face in his hands. "I'm sorry Natalie," he told her. "I'm just so scared."

"I am too," she confessed. "That's our girl right there. This isn't just some patient anymore."

All at once the machines hooked up to the couple's daughter went haywire. The loud beeping was deafening.

"What's happening?" Andrew shouted.

A nurse came running in. "CODE BLUE!" She yelled. "I NEED A CRASH CART IN HERE!"

So many people rushed into the room, and Andrew and Natalie were shuffled out.

"What's wrong?" Andrew demanded.

"You need to wait outside, sir." A nurse told him. "We'll update you when we know more."

The girl's parents slowly made their way to the waiting room, just moments from falling apart. They waited for what seemed like an eternity for a doctor to come out with news about their daughter. Finally, someone came out.

"What happened?" Natalie asked calmly.

"She had a bleed. We were able to stop it, but we won't know if there are any effects until she wakes up." The doctor said solemnly.

"Do you have any idea when that will be?"

"Hopefully within a few hours, maybe not for another day or two. It's impossible to tell. You can go sit with her if you'd like."

The two rushed back to be by their daughter. She looked awful. A tube down her throat. Bruises covering the right side of her face. A shaven head. Arm in a sling. Never had she looked so broken, so small. They sat with her for a few hours, just hoping, just waiting.

*break*

I was startled to find that I could hear the purr of machines. Everything had been gone for so long that it brought me a strange comfort, even though I was still completely lost. My eyelids were heavy, so very heavy. My body hurt. Something was stuck in my throat.

I could hear other murmurs, whispers. Who was it? Who was there? I tried to move, to make some sign to show that I was there. But I couldn't. My limbs felt like lead blocks. My eyelids refused to cooperate. The thing in my throat didn't allow for me to talk.

Suddenly, everything was fading again.

 _No!_ I screamed internally. _Not again! Not the darkness!_

Black.

*break*

Slowly, ever so slowly, I felt myself come back. Out of the darkness and into some place in between. Why couldn't I wake up? Why couldn't I escape this state? I could hear the murmurs again, and the whirs of the machines. I cherished the fact that I could hear them and prayed that the darkness wouldn't swallow me up again.

Instead, there was light. At first it hurt. It was too bright. Then I realized that this could be it. I could be waking up! My eyelids still felt heavy, but I wasn't letting this light escape. I wanted to see it. I needed to see it.

I forced my eyelids to open and was immediately blinded. The room I was in-which I guessed was in a hospital-was completely and utterly white. It momentarily distracted me from the fact that there was a tube down my throat. When I felt it I couldn't help but panic. I knew it was there to help me but it hurt and it made it hard to breathe.

Then someone yelled for a nurse. The sound was so loud I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to shut down the pain that was ringing through my head. The pain was so intense I think that I blanked out for a moment. When I finally opened my eyes again, someone was taking the tube out of my throat. Once it was out, I tried to speak. I needed the lights off. They were too bright. However, my throat hurt so bad that when I attempted speech it just came out as a squeak.

"Thank goodness you're awake, sweetie!" A lady said. Her face was blurry and her voice was too loud. I shut my eyes again, willing her to just shut up and go away.

"We were so worried about you!" That was a man's voice, the same one who had yelled for a nurse earlier. He was also too loud.

Someone cleared their voice. "Can you two please leave the room for a moment?" This was also a man. He spoke in a softer tone, thankfully.

The first man responded in an aggressive tone. "What do you mean? Our daughter just woke up! We need to be with her."

Daughter? Those were my parents? Why didn't their voices sound familiar?

The second man talked so quietly I didn't hear. The conversation seemed to end since I heard the faint squeal of shoes walking away. The lights were then dimmed and the voice spoke again.

"They're gone," he whispered. "I turned the lights down so it's not so bright anymore."

Cautiously, I opened my eyes. Standing next to me was man wearing a white coat. With my still-blurry eyes and the now dim room, I couldn't make out his face.

"I'm going to leave for a few minutes, alright? That'll give you some time alone to wake up completely. But first I just have to check your vitals, okay?" He told me softly.

He went about his business, being as gentle as he could possibly be. I took the time to close my eyes and try to stop my head from spinning. Only when I heard the door close did I reopen them. They had cleared up a bit so things weren't as blurry.

I did a quick assessment of myself, trying to figure out exactly what was wrong with me. My left arm was in a sling, but it was my shoulder that hurt the most. My chest hurt as if someone had stomped on it several times. The worst was my head. The pain was centralized the right side, but resonated out all over. I noticed that a little handheld mirror was on the nightstand next to me. With some difficulty and a lot of pain, I reached over and grabbed it.

I placed it on my lap. For some reason, I couldn't bring myself to look. Instead I focused on trying to figure out what happened. To my surprise, there was nothing. Not just about why I was here. I couldn't remember anything. Not my name, not where I lived, not my parents. I grabbed the mirror and looked into it. The person looking back at me was a stranger. A shaved head, bruises covering the right side of her face, staples on the side of her head.

As the dull blue eyes in the mirror stared back at me I felt my chest tighten. There was no recollection when I looked in the mirror. I didn't know who I was looking at. I didn't know myself. The panic started to set in, tears crept out of my eyes, and a choked sob came out of my throat. I threw the mirror across the room and screamed at the pain in my chest.

"I CAN'T BREATHE!" I tried to yell. The words tore through my throat painfully. I couldn't stop shaking, I couldn't breathe.

I grabbed the call button and pressed it over and over again. I needed someone in here right now. I was losing a grip on myself.

Two nurses came in. Upon seeing me panic they immediately called for my doctor.

"WHO AM I?" I screamed at them. "WHO AM I?"

"Calm down! Calm down!" They said to me. "You're okay!" They were trying to get me to lie back down without hurting me.

"I DON"T KNOW WHO I AM!" I yelled. My throat was on fire, but I couldn't stop the panicked yells that kept bubbling out of it.

After what seemed like an eternity, my doctor came back, a syringe in hand.

"NO!" I screamed. "I DON'T WANT TO GO BACK TO SLEEP!"

I tried to knock the syringe out of his hand, but I tried using my bad arm. The pain was excruciating and I screamed again. I cried out again as the doctor jabbed the needle into my arm. I felt the effects almost immediately. My eyelids got heavy and my yells turned to whimpers.

"I don't know who I am." I cried quietly.

The nurses shifted me into a more comfortable position as I began to drift off. One was gently wiping the tears from my eyes.

As the darkness overtook me, I asked one last time. "Who am I?"

*break*

When I woke up the doctor was watching me. Usually I would have been a little unnerved by this, but I was just embarrassed.

"Welcome back," he said softly.

"I'm sorry," I croaked. My throat felt like it was torn the shreds.

"For what?" The doctor asked.

"For causing a scene." I told him.

He chuckled softly. "That wasn't your fault. You just had a panic attack. Completely understandable, given your state."

"I don't remember anything," I said, trying to keep myself calm.

"About the panic attack?"

I shook my head. "I remember that clearly. I don't remember anything about myself. Before."

The doctor narrowed his eyes. "I'll be right back." He left but came back only a moment later. "I'm going to show you a series of flashcards with various objects on them. All you have to do is tell me what they are, okay?"

I didn't understand what this had to do with anything, but I obliged. He showed me a duck, a pencil, a car, a tree, and a hand.

"Now I'm going to ask a series of questions. If you don't know the answer just shake your head, okay?"

"What is 4+4?"

"8."

"What is your name?"

I shook my head.

"What is 9 x 3?"

"27."

"When is your birthday?"

I shook my head.

"What is 152/8?"

"19."

"What are the first names of your parents?"

I shook my head.

It went on like this for several minutes. He'd ask me some question of logic, and then a personal one. The logical questions were easy, but I couldn't answer a single question about myself.

"It seems to me that you have a case of retrograde amnesia. You had a head injury, and now you can't remember anything before you woke up."

"So who the hell am I?"

 **There it is! Let me know what you think by leaving a review.**

 **~A**


	4. Chapter 4

"I can only give you the basics," the doctor told me. "Your name is Beatrice Prior, but you mother told me you prefer to be called Tris. You're a junior at Divergent High and you're 17 years old."

Tris Prior. That did sound a lot better than Beatrice Prior. It wasn't a lot to go on, but it was a start.

"Can you tell me how I got hurt?" I croaked, my voice still hoarse from being intubated. And the screaming too, I guess.

"From what has been gathered from witnesses, it wasn't very pretty." Dr. Henning's-or at least I think that's what his name tag said-confessed. "You were playing basketball, which you're apparently quite good at. You dove for a ball and someone accidentally stepped on you. Your head hit the ground with a great deal of force, and they also tripped on your shoulder, causing it to dislocate. At first they were worried that you broke your neck."

"The trauma to the head knocked you unconscious immediately. When you finally arrived at the hospital an x-ray showed that you had a fractured skull and some bleeding in the brain. We managed to stop the bleeding and repair the skull with little difficulty. We were just waiting for you to wake up when you had another bleed. We caught it before any serious damage could be done, but it looks like one of the two incidents caused the amnesia. And obviously you have a severe concussion due to your symptoms."

"Why does my chest hurt?" Talking was so painful, not just in my throat but my head as well.

"When the second bleed occurred, you flat lined. You stopped breathing and we had to perform CPR. You probably got a few bruised ribs during that process, maybe even a cracked one. We can do an x-ray to check, but it should get better within a few days or so."

I nodded, trying to digest all of this information. It was insane. I woke up a blank slate. There was absolutely no memories left in my head whatsoever. What was going to happen when I went back to school?

I mentally scolded myself. I'm lucky to even be alive and here I am freaking out over who I'm going to sit next to at lunch.

"I'm going to send your parents in here." The doctor informed me. "I'll inform them of your situation and hopefully they won't react too badly." He started to walk towards the door. "And if you feel tired, which I imagine you do, don't hesitate to tell them to leave. They'll understand."

I really liked that doctor. He seemed to understand exactly what I needed before I even knew myself. Like earlier with the lights and the loud voices, he saw immediately that it was overwhelming to me and put an end to it.

I closed my eyes as I waited for the people who were supposedly my parents. My stomach was doing flips, my nerves getting the best of me. How was I supposed to act around them? At this point, I had no idea who they even were! All I could hope for was some understanding and patience on their part.

A tallish man with thinning hair in a suit came in, followed by a kind looking woman with short brown hair that was tied up. I willed myself to remember these people, but came up short. There was nothing. They pulled up two chairs to my bedside, and I cringed when the legs scratched against the floor.

"Sorry, sorry," the pair apologized in a whisper.

The woman grabbed my hand and held it reassuringly. "Dr. Henning's told us about your amnesia. We're going to try our best to help you, you may just need to be a little patient with us. We'll help you in any way that we can, any way that you need."

"This isn't going to be easy for anyone," the man-my father-said quietly. "But if life was easy, how would we ever learn anything about ourselves?"

"Thank you," I croaked. "I can't begin to understand how hard this is on you, knowing that your own daughter has no idea who you are. We'll just have to get to know each other again. Um… I guess we should introduce ourselves? My name is, uh, Tris?"

The pair smiled, but I could see the pain laced in their eyes. It was obvious that their hearts were broken at the fact that their own daughter didn't have a clue who they were, not to mention the fact that she barely knew her own name. I didn't want to think about it, but it was impossible. This was our lives now.

"My name is Natalie," my mother told me. "And your father's name is Andrew."

Natalie and Andrew. I committed their names to memory. My new memory.

"Uh, if you don't mind," I began. "I'm really tired. Can we, maybe, continue this tomorrow?"

I could see they really didn't want to leave. Their looks of longing made me feel guilty, but I was feeling my eyelids droop. I wouldn't retain anything they told me while I was in this state.

"Okay," Natalie finally said. "We'll be back tomorrow sometime. Sleep tight, honey."

"One more thing," I said. "I don't want to be rude, but is it okay if I call you by your first names until I feel comfortable using mom and dad?"

The look on their faces caused guilt to overcome me. I couldn't help it though. It didn't feel right to call these people my parents when I barely knew them.

Andrew put on a brave face. "Of course, honey. That's fine."

As they made their way out, my parents paused in the doorway. "We love you," they said.

This was the part where I was supposed to say that I loved them too, but all I managed to give them was a weak smile. It was impossible to ignore the utter sadness in their eyes as they walked out.

Only a few seconds after they departed, Dr. Henning's came back into the room.

"I'm not here to keep you up," he promised. "I'm just assuming you're in quite a bit of pain, so I was wondering if you'd like some more pain medication. It'll help you sleep as well."

All I could do was nod. I was already drifting off.

-break-

The next day Natalie and Andrew came back around lunch time. They seemed to be in better spirits than when they left the previous night.

"How are you doing today, sweetie?" Natalie asked.

"My throats still a little raw, but it's better than yesterday," I told her. "Everything else is pretty much the same."

The effects from my morning meds were wearing off. My shoulder was on fire and it felt like someone was banging on my head with a hammer. The lights were dim in the room and everyone kept their voices quiet, so that helped.

Natalie and Andrew talked and talked. They told me how good at school I was, how good at basketball I was, how much I loved my friends and how much they loved me. When they told me how sad Caleb was that he couldn't visit, I became confused.

"Caleb?" I asked, puzzled. "Is he, uh, is he my boyfriend?"

Natalie laughed softly. I found myself comforted by the sound. It _almost_ felt familiar.

"No no no," she said, still laughing. "I'm sorry. Caleb is your _brother._ "

"Oh." That still left a question stuck in my head. Did I have a boyfriend? If I did, would he want me now that I didn't remember him? Or that I looked like the female version of Frankenstein? I never ended up asking Natalie and Andrew. They were busy telling me about Caleb and how close we were, and I tried my best to pay attention and remember everything they said.

"Caleb said that he'll come by after he gets done with school today." Andrew said. "Is that okay? He really wants to see you."

"Will you two be here?" I asked. Suddenly I was really nervous. I was about to meet my brother. What if he resented me for forgetting about him?

The last thought made me feel silly. Why would he resent me? If we were as close as my parents said, he should be understanding.

"If you want us to be, we can tag along." Natalie smiled at me.

I shook my head. "I think I can handle him."

"I'd imagine so," Andrew chuckled. "You have been for seventeen years!"

The room fell into an uncomfortable silence. All at once they remembered that I did not, in fact, have any idea who Caleb was and how to handle him. I could feel the disappointment radiating off of them, and it was hard to think that it was not directed at me.

Natalie cleared her throat, trying to clear the air. "How would you feel if your school friends came by for a visit tomorrow? They've really missed you and want to know how you're doing."

I wasn't going to pretend that I remembered all of their names. I also wasn't too eager that they'd see me in this state. There was very little hair on my head, the bruises on my face were still showing themselves off proudly, and, not to forget the most important thing, I did not remember a single thing about them.

Natalie must have seen my hesitation. "You don't have to worry about a thing, dear. They know what you're going through."

"No they don't!" I exclaimed. "Nobody knows what I'm going through! I lost _my_ memories, not them! They don't have to rebuild their entire lives! I do! You can't tell me they know what I'm going through when they don't! You don't know either! Not even I know," I trailed off quietly, my throat aching from the sudden outburst.

As soon as the words came out of my mouth I regretted them. I was angry, furious even. I didn't want to be enduring this pain, this loss. But to take it out on them, the people who were just trying to help… I was being awful to them.

"I'm sorry," I told them as sincerely as I could manage, my throat still raw. "That was rude. I shouldn't take my frustrations out on you."

The pair looked at each other and sighed. "It's alright, Tris. Besides, you're right. Nobody knows what you're going through. We're just here to help in any way that we can." There was a pause. "So do you want us to tell your friends you're not up for any visitors?"

"They can come." I conceded. "Maybe one of them can teach me how to cover all this up." I gestured to my bruises.

I was going for a laugh but received a solemn sadness.

"We'll let them know," Natalie said. "We're going to get going. Your father has a meeting and I have a shift at the hospital. You're-Caleb should be here soon anyways. Goodbye Tris."

They didn't look back when I said goodbye. Guilt raced through me. I ruined everything with my bout of selfishness. They'd never look at me the same.

I had begun to drift off when I heard a knock on the door. Someone turned the lights brighter and I immediately shut my eyes again.

"Turn them back down," I hissed.

"Sorry," a voice said, obviously male.

I opened one eye to find a boy about my age standing in the doorway. "Are you Caleb?" I asked cautiously.

"Caleb? No. I'm Matthew." The boy sounded confused.

"Matthew?" I said aloud, equally confused. Natalie and Andrew had ran a lot of names by me, but I definitely didn't remember a Matthew.

"So it's true then." Matthew murmured, mostly to himself. "You really don't remember anything?"

"Maybe I do. Maybe you're just not that memorable." I surprised myself with the banter. Was I flirty before?

"There's the Tris I know," Matthew said.

"Well at least you know her," I muttered ruefully. "Who are you exactly?"

"I-I'm no one. Just someone from school." The look in his eyes said otherwise, but I wasn't going to press it. "I just wanted to stop by and see how you were. See you around."

He was out of the room before I could say anything. The whole encounter had been particularly odd. I didn't have a chance to dwell on it because only a moment later another boy walked in the room. Thankfully, this one didn't turn on the lights.

"Tris!" A shocked sound came out of his mouth, his tone reflecting the look in his eyes.

"According to my chart, that is me." I tried again with the jokes, hoping this would have a better outcome. When a warm smile appeared on the boy's face I knew I had been successful.

"It's good to know you haven't lost your sense of humor," the boy sighed.

"You must be Caleb."

"Yeah, the better of the Prior siblings."

"Ouch," I feigned hurt. "Well, now that I am perpetually lost and have no memories I suppose you are. Sad that it had to come to this for you to have your moment as the 'better' child."

Caleb visibly winced. "You look awful, Tris."

"You don't have to tell me that." I answered lightheartedly. Most would have been offended by the statement, but I knew he didn't mean it in that way. "It'll take forever for my hair to grow back and for these bruises to fade."

"Those sure are an angry shade of purple," Caleb observed, taking a closer look at the blemished side of my face.

There was a loud chime.

My head started ringing and I shut my eyes to try and control the pain.

"Sorry!" Caleb exclaimed. "I forgot to put my phone on silent. Oh, and I hope you don't mind. Your friends showed up a day early."

Once I regained my focus, I turned my attention back to Caleb.

"They're here? Now?" I questioned.

"They're out in the waiting room." Caleb told me. "I'll send them in. We'll have plenty of time to reconnect at home. See you, sis."

I gave him a wave as he left. A sea of anxiety crashed over me. My friends were coming in. What if they took one look and turned away, unable to face my unpleasant appearance? What if they weren't interested in getting to know me again? What if they lacked the patience to try?

I shook my head-a regrettable choice because of my concussion-trying to get rid of these irrational thoughts. If they were really my friends, they'd be understanding. I clung to that thought as I prepared myself.

As they came in, the five of them, they all gave greetings. One girl with smooth mocha skin and dark chocolate hair immediately began fretting over me. But I couldn't focus on her.

I was stuck in a trance.

My eyes were locked with another's.

A sea of blue was threatening to swallow me right then and there.


	5. Chapter 5

He was the one to break the eye contact. I immediately looked down, embarrassed that I'd gotten so caught up in the boys gaze. His eyes were so deep, I felt as if I could drown in them. I flicked my attention to the fussy girl. She was ranting about how much foundation I was going to have to buy, whatever that meant.

"Christina," a boy with shaggy blonde are and eyes the odd color of celery said, cutting off her assault of beauty tips.

The girl-Christina-sighed. "Sorry. Guess I got a little carried away there."

I gave her a weak smile, actually a bit glad for the distraction. The broody boy with the eyes was still threatening to steal my attention, and this girl was helping keep my gaze from drifting to him.

"You must be the infamous Christina," I noted, trying to remember the description Andrew and Natalie gave me. "The fashion aficionado of Divergent High, forward on the basketball team, my best friend." I finished the last bit quietly. There was still a chance that she'd want nothing to do with me once she realized how broken I actually was.

"Guilty of all charges," Christina said, her voice cheery but her eyes sad, "and my new job is to make sure you remember exactly how great I am and how you could never live without me."

This time a true smile spread across my face. Christina wasn't giving up on me, and I got the impression that she was too stubborn to quit on a mission. She was going to get me back, no matter how long it took.

Christina then went to work on introducing the other four. First was Will, the blonde who had paused Christina during her makeup rage. He was Christina's boyfriend and also one of the first people to befriend me when I moved to the Chicago area in sixth grade. We were two of the smartest kids in school, both vying for valedictorian.

Next was Uriah, basically my second brother apparently. He and his twin brother Zeke, who currently was absent, were the goofballs of the group. The dark skinned brothers were two of my biggest supporters. Uriah befriended me after a school bully named Peter kept cat-calling me. He was about to teach him a lesson when I took over and did it myself. He told me it was one of the coolest things he's ever seen and we've been friends ever since.

Marlene was Uriah's girlfriend, and also one of my best friends. We weren't as close as Christina and I, but still close. She was a beautiful blonde with blue eyes that sparkled. She reminded me of a little kid in some ways, like she was always happy.

Last, but definitely not least, was Tobias, more commonly known by Four at school. I couldn't deny the fact that he was gorgeous in a broody, wannabe bad boy kind a way. He was tall and lanky, all sharp angles with a spare upper lip. His brown hair was cropped short. I felt intimidated under his gaze, and I didn't like it. Christina made it seem like we weren't all that close, so it just made me curious as to why he was here.

After I was reintroduced to everyone, they sat around my bed making small talk. They shared a few memories, usually involving pranks set up by Zeke and Uriah, along with my help most of the time. It was both comforting and painful to hear. I wish that I could remember these moments on my own. It was unfair to my friends that they couldn't rely on me to know things that I should have memorized. An unwanted tear started to slip down my cheek, a sign of weakness I did not want to show.

Christina paused midsentence upon seeing the tear. "Oh, Tris," she murmured softly. "It's okay. We'll make new memories, and help you remember the old ones too. We're here for you, all of us. We are not going anywhere. You're our family and we'll do anything to help you through this."

I sniffled and let out a quick laugh. I was so fortunate to have such a strong group behind me, willing to support me always.

I remembered the boy that came in earlier and wondered if he was part of my group as well. "Quick question." I began. "Who's Matthew? He came in a bit before you guys did."

All at once the faces of my friends hardened into scowls.

"Matthew came here?" Christina demanded at the same time both Uriah and Will muttered, "I'm gonna kill him," under their breath. If I hadn't been paying attention, I would've missed how Tobias quickly clenched his fist before relaxing again.

"That son of a bitch!" Christina exclaimed. The rise of her voice sent a ring through my skull, but I ignored it hoping that Christina would elaborate on the situation.

"Alright, somebody please explain," I nearly begged.

"Matthew," Christina seethed, "is a sleaze ball who isn't worthy of an ounce of your time! He thinks he can just do what he did and get away with it? I don't think so! I swear I'm going to stuff him and Lauren into my trunk and push my car off of a damn cliff!"

Christina started muttering obscenities not so subtly. Will guided her outside to calm her down, and Marlene looked at my sympathetically.

"Matthew is-well, was, I guess-your boyfriend. You were dating for about six months, but it was going downhill. We suspected that he wasn't really faithful for a while, but after you got hurt we really found out how bad he was." Marlene told me. "He'd been hooking up with this girl named Lauren during almost the entirety of your relationship. When you got hurt and were in a coma, he played the hurt boyfriend card, but once rumor had it that you didn't remember anything he didn't bother trying to hide anymore. He's been public with Lauren for the past few days, and if someone asks about you, he just says that he broke up with you because he couldn't deal with the pressure of taking care of you."

I whistled in amazement. This guy was lucky that I don't remember him. If I did, I feel like he wouldn't have had much of a chance to defend himself. "Sounds like a tool." My voice came out more amused than anything, which seemed to stun the others a little.

I gave them an innocent shrug. "If I don't remember him then there's no use being upset about it. That's in the past now and I don't need to include him in my life from now on."

"Just so you know, he was a jealous son of a bitch who tried to take you away from us. He also told all his friends that you had sex with him, which you always adamantly denied. He's not a good guy, so if he or anyone gives you any trouble about it, we're here to set them straight." Uriah's statement comforted me. It was good to know all this just in case, though also embarrassing since he just announced that I was a virgin.

Will and Christina came back in, though I wasn't convinced that Christina was completely in control again. Marlene nodded at her as if to say that she had explained the situation and that Christina didn't need to worry about it anymore.

"Alright, let's not talk about that particular subject anymore, please and thank you," Christina sighed. Everyone murmured in agreement.

We continued with the small talk until we realized that they'd been there for almost two hours. I didn't realize how exhausted I was until we were saying our goodbyes. Both Marlene and Christina gave me kisses on the cheek, which made me a tad uncomfortable, while Uriah and Will gave my good shoulder a reassuring squeeze. Tobias hung back with his hands tucked in his pockets, clearly out of his element here. It made me sad, I wanted to know more about him, but his demeanor made me think that that probably wasn't going to happen.

"See ya, Tris," was all he said. His voice was low, but smooth, comforting even. I wish he would have spoken more during the visit, but I was pretty sure those were the only words he had said the whole time. As he walked out, I wondered what his story was. I just wanted to know more about him. I drifted off remembering those deep blue eyes

-Break-

I was stuck in that hospital bed for another five days. They wanted to make sure that my head was healing nicely and not bleeding. My arm was still in a sling and the constant throbbing reminded me of the rehab I would have to go through. Christina told me how lucky I was that it wasn't my shooting arm. The concussion symptoms were finally starting to subside. The lights didn't really bother me anymore but extremely loud noises caused some pain. The worst of it was the headaches that would almost incapacitate me. Dr. Hennings said that was most likely because of the skull fracture I had endured.

My friends came to see me almost every day after school. I finally met Zeke, who was just as rambunctious as Uriah, and Lynn, a girl with really short blonde hair and seemed to have a permanent scowl on her face. I got the feeling that she didn't really like me all that much, and I wondered what the reason for that was.

Tobias didn't come back for a couple days, but showed up the day before I was released. Just like the first time, he didn't say much and just kind of minded his own business during the visit. I asked Christina about it when everyone else had left. She told me that he's like that with everyone except for Zeke. Apparently he also had a lot on his plate, but he never said what exactly. She reassured me that it would get better at school.

School.

You don't hear many teenagers that they're excited to go to school, but after being stuck in this hospital I was more than ready to go back. I will admit, though, that I was really nervous as well. I didn't know how everyone else would treat me. Christina said that they were taking care of anyone that Matthew spread his lies to, but it wasn't just that. I still looked like a train wreck. I didn't care that it was how I looked, I just didn't want people staring at me. I hardly had any hair, the bruises on my face were still present, but losing their angry color and turning into that gross greenish yellow hue. Most of all I didn't want their pity. I didn't want to be known as the girl who almost died because of a basketball game.

I still had the weekend to get prepared. Christina said she would come over and help me get ready and drive me to school. Andrew and Natalie told me that I have a car of my own, but I won't be able to drive it until I'm completely better.

I went home and was surprised immediately. The house I lived in was fairly large. Given that Natalie was a doctor and Andrew did something in the government-I couldn't remember what he did exactly-I really shouldn't be shocked that they owned such a nice house.

Even more surprising was how modest the inside was. There weren't many decorations and the style was very mellow. Lots of whites and grays, with an occasional splash of dark blue. On the main floor was the kitchen, a spacious living room, and my parent's master bedroom with a connecting master bathroom. The basement had the laundry room and another living room, though Natalie said they only used it when there was guests. Upstairs held both mine and Caleb's bedrooms, each having an individual bathroom.

I walked up to my bedroom to find that it was just as simple as the rest of the house. It was equipped with a walk in closet that wasn't that full, a desk for homework, a shelf lined with books, and a bed that was calling my name. I pulled back the covers and snuggled in. It was short lived comfort though, for Caleb had popped his head in.

"Hey, sis," he greeted.

I sat up and tried to blink the tiredness from my eyes. "Hey, Caleb," I replied.

"Good to see you back," he said with a warm smile. "Mom and dad really want you to take it easy this weekend, so if you need anything just call for me. Consider me your butler for the next couple days."

"My butler?" I liked the sound of that. "Great, I have lots of stuff for you to do! I would like some chocolate ice cream, a glass of ice water, a foot massage-"

"Okay, okay, cool it missy." Caleb interrupted.

I let out a chuckle. "I'm just kidding," I told him. "I think I'm gonna take a nap, maybe read a book."

"Careful with the books though," Caleb said. "It might give you a headache. Also, concussions can cause a lack of ability to concentrate, so you probably wouldn't get through more than a couple pages anyways."

I looked at the shelf thoughtfully. There were a lot of books on it, and I wanted to start on them right away, but I also wanted to avoid a headache at all costs. "You're probably right. I'll just take a nap."

"Sounds good," Caleb said, starting to retreat. "Your phone is in the drawer of your nightstand. Don't go on it too much, but I'm sure you've got a lot of notifications from your many admirers." He called as he left.

I snorted and reached over to grab my phone. Caleb wasn't wrong, there was a substantial amount of notifications. I scrolled through, only responding to the ones from the people I knew. When I saw the message thread with Matthew I decided to look through it. The last messages were from him, obviously, and they weren't very nice. They were definitely sent before he realized I had gotten hurt, but still, who calls their girlfriend a bitch for not answering the phone?

Christina said that I was with this guy for around six months, but I'm not sure how we lasted that long judging from these few messages.

I closed out the messaging app and next went on to the social media ones. My twitter was mostly filled with sporting news and stuff from fellow classmates. I had rarely tweeted unless it was to promote one of my sports teams.

Instagram consisted of a few pics with my friends or teammates. There was one of Matthew kissing me on the cheek, which I promptly deleted.

What was his deal anyways? Why didn't he just break up with me if he wasn't getting what he wanted? Why didn't he tell me who he was at the hospital?

I shook my head. Overthinking it was pointless anyways considering I don't even remember him. Might as well move on to better things since he obviously was a scumbag anyways.

Who knew where the better things would be? It wouldn't be easy, I knew that. I also knew that if I was going to be able to get myself through this that I would need to think positively. The way I saw it, this was a chance to recreate myself, to become the person I truly wanted to be, to follow the path I wanted to go down. Not many people get this chance, so I was determined not to take it for granted, and try and get everything I wanted out of life.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

The rest of the weekend was bliss. I had Caleb to boss around as I pleased. I didn't have doctors or nurses barging in all the time. It was the most relaxed I'd been since I had gotten hurt.

Over the weekend Christina came over to go over my course schedule with me. The doctor said it would just take a little reviewing for my academic skills to come back. I was thankful for that because apparently I took a lot of tough courses. Natalie had also talked to all my teachers, so I was excused from all the tests and homework assignments that I had missed while I was in the hospital.

Promptly at 6:30 on Monday morning, there was a knock on my bedroom door and in walked Christina. She looked as though she had been up for hours and had drank three cups of coffee. "Rise and shine!" she said excitedly.

I sat up and greeted her with a yawn. Using my good arm, I threw my comforter off and stood up. Christina flipped on the lights and I squinted in pain, the effects of my concussion not quite gone yet.

"I was thinking that you should dress for comfort today," Christina suggested. As I happily moved towards my pile of sweatpants, Christina snapped, "I said comfort, not slobby." She looked through my closet thoughtfully for a while, occasionally pausing on an item before pushing aside with everything else. After what seemed like an eternity she pulled out a black and white stripped sweater and laid it on my bed. Soon there was a pair of skinny jeans as well as a pair of black convers beside them. Christina seemed happy with her choice and looked at me expectantly.

"What?"

"Aren't you going to change?" she questioned.

"In front of you?" I asked incredulously. "I, uh, could you step out maybe?"

Christina sighed but smiled at me. "It's good to know that you haven't changed," she said as she exited my bedroom.

I managed to get the pants on just fine, but when it came to putting on a bra and the sweater I was stuck. My shoulder was still healing, and I could barely take the sling off by myself. I sighed as I realized my only option was to call Christina in for help.

"Christina," I called. "I need your help."

She came in and gently helped me change. I could tell that my face was a nice bright shade of pink, but Christina wasn't making fun of me at all. She was being very patient and let me go at my own pace.

"There," she said as we finally got the on. "Now on to the make-up."

"I don't think make-up is going to help me much right now, Christina," I told her. "I'm not sure I'm really in the condition to be looking for a boyfriend."

Christina frowned at me and ordered me to sit down at the vanity. "Tris, I'm trying to cover up the disgusting bruises that are on your face. Do you want to have your face be the color of puke?"

"No," I muttered. She set to work, attacking my face with various brushes and substances. After a while she set down the brushes and said, "I think that's the best I can do for that." She then proceeded to add mascara to my eyelashes before letting me go.

"There really isn't anything that I can do for your hair," she told me. My head was covered in a thin, blonde fuzz as well as a large bandage that covered the majority of the right side of my skull. The staples that had been keeping my head together had just come out a few days prior.

At the smell of pancakes, Christina and I ventured downstairs to see Natalie putting a dirty pan in the sink. She greeted us and slid over two plates of pancakes and a bottle of syrup.

"I have to run, but I wanted to make sure you had some breakfast. Have a good day at school you two," she said as she was rushing around the kitchen.

Christina and I thanked her and dug in. at 7:45 we were in Christina's car and on the way to school. My stomach was doing nervous flips the whole drive. To be honest, I was worried. I knew that I had friends that would help me out, but how would everybody else react?

"Now remember, you have 1st period AP U.S. History with Four. He'll help you find your way to your 2nd period class, which is?"

"11th grade English, which is with everyone but Lynn and Zeke. Then gym which is with everyone. Then Civics with Uriah, Zeke, and Marlene. Then AP Calculus with no one."

"Your own fault," Christina added. "Only junior in the entire class to take it. Will wanted to take it too, but her had conflicts."

I just rolled my eyes. "After that is lunch. Then Anatomy with you, Will, and Four. Lastly, Psychology with you, Will, and Four again."

"Great. One of us should be with you at all times to make sure that you get to the right place. I'll try to get your calculus class as soon as I can to get you to the lunch room.

"I'm not a child Christina, I don't need a babysitter." I said bitterly.

"Yeah well, I'm just being careful," she retorted.

We pulled in to the school parking lot about ten minutes before class started. As we walked down the hallway people stopped talking to catch a glimpse of the girl who almost died because of a basketball game.

"Hey Tris!" One voice called out. "What happened to all your hair?"

I turned in the direction of the voice and saw a group of guys sniggering. One guy, however, was just looking at the ground. I turned my head and just let the comment go, but Christina did not do that same.

"She donated it to give your mother a new wig, asshole." She snapped at the boy.

All of the boy's friends laughed as we walked away. Christina was still fuming but didn't say anything more about it. She led me to my locker, and I just stood in front of it for a moment.

"I don't remember the combination," I said.

"I should've picked that up!" Christina said, flustered. "Do you think you can go to the office by yourself to get it? I already showed you where the classroom was. I'd go with you but I'm going to be late to class if I do."

"Of course I can," I told her with a smile. "I'll see you in English."

Christina hurried off and I started to walk towards the office. The secretary was very understanding of my situation. When the bell rang she handed me a hall pass well as the combination to my locker. She told me to take care and sent me on my way.

I had just gotten my locker open when I heard, "Hey Tris."

I turned around and was slightly startled at who it was. "Matthew."

He looked nervous to be near me and wouldn't meet my gaze. "I just want to apologize for Peter's comment earlier. That was uncalled for."

"Peter?" I questioned.

"The guy who-never mind, I guess." He paused and scratched at the back of his neck awkwardly. "Anyways, I'm sure by now your friends told you that we used to go out."

"Yeah, I guess I really dodged a bullet there, didn't I?" I wasn't sure where the attitude came from, but from what I've been hearing this guy deserves it.

His shocked face was quickly lined with anger. "You were so lucky to have me. I was the best thing-"

"What girl is lucky to have a boy who cheats on her just because she won't have sex with him?" I cut in. There was no anger in my voice. It was so matter-of-fact and I think that's what pissed off Matthew the most.

Matthew took a small step towards me, but before he could say or do anything another voice sounded from the hallway.

"Don't."

Both Matthew and I turned towards the source. It was Four. He had said only one word, but it rang out with authority. He stood a good ten feet away, but Matthew still backed away as though he would be struck at any moment. He shot one more glare at me before hurrying away.

Four came a few steps closer and I felt trapped in his hard gaze. "Are you okay?" he asked gruffly, his tone staying as stern as it had when he addressed Matthew.

"Yes, thanks," I said. Quickly, I grabbed my books and shut my locker. When I turned back around Four was still there waiting for me. "Do you make it a point to be late to class too?" I asked, going for humor.

"Mr. Kang was worried you had gotten lost," he replied, either not picking up the joke or choosing to ignore it. "He sent me to come and find you."

"Well thanks I guess," I said quietly. I wasn't quite sure what his problem was. Why did he act like everything was an inconvenience for him?

He glanced over at me and saw me struggling to keep my backpack solely on my good shoulder.

"Let me take that for you," he said with a surprising gentleness.

"I can handle it," I protested, but he was already slipping the backpack onto his own shoulder. I rolled my eyes and I thought I glimpsed the beginning of a smile takeover his lips. It was a nice change from the usual stern glare.

The rest of the short walk was silent, and when we got to the classroom everyone stopped talking and stared. I felt my cheeks redden as Four set my backpack down by a desk and sat down in the one next to it. I sat down and quietly took out my things, but I could feel the eyes that remained on me.

"Welcome back, Ms. Prior," the teacher-Mr. Kang, according to Four-greeted politely. I gave him a small smile in return.

As the lecture continued, I felt the eyes slowly slip of me and back onto the teacher. I found that the more he talked, the more my previous knowledge of the subject was coming back to me. The doctor was right, and that made me let out a small sigh of relief.

"I want you to read pages 302-325 in your book tonight!" Mr. Kang announced as the bell rang to dismiss us.

I quickly shoved my things back into my bag, but before I could pick it up Four reached down and grabbed it, once again with a hint of a smile playing at his lips.

"How chivalrous," I muttered. Four chuckled and walked out. I deliberately turned the opposite way instead of following him. I had no idea where I was going, but I really didn't care. My friends thought I couldn't do anything by myself, so I was determined to find this classroom on my own no matter how long it took. As petty as it was, I smiled at my brief strike against them. It was ridiculously short lived however.

Four had very long legs and caught up to me quickly. "What are you doing," he asked humorlessly.

"I'm going to English." I said. "What about you?"

"Actually, it looks like you're headed to the lunchroom. Now turn around and follow me or we're going to be late." Four ordered.

I stopped in the middle of the hallway. "I don't need some tour guide leading me around."

Four glared down at me but I didn't break eye contact. "You think I want to be your tour guide?"

"All of you guys think I'm helpless. Yeah, I don't remember a goddamn thing about who I am, but that doesn't mean I can't do a single thing by myself."

Four dropped my backpack by my feet. "Fine. You wanna prove that you're not helpless? Be my guest. Find English all on your own. I'm not going to be late just because you have a complex."

I glared at him as he turned away. Scooping up my bag, I headed off in the same direction as him. As much as I hated to admit it, I didn't believe that I could find the room on my own. I kept a little distance between us so that he couldn't see that I was following him. I made it to class right before the bell rang, and saw Christina chewing out Four, who was conveniently ignoring her.

"I can't believe you just left her there!" Christina seethed. "You know that she doesn't know where any of the classrooms are!"

Four looked up and caught my eye. With a smirk he said, "Well it looks like she got here just fine."

Christina stopped talking and looked up. The glare in her eyes didn't leave as I took the seat next to her. "Why do you have to be so stubborn?" She whisper-yelled at me. I just shrugged and took out my things for the lesson.

-break-

I got through the rest of my classes with little conflict. During gym I had to sit out since I'm not cleared yet, and I kept noticing that the boys were glancing over and laughing. I noticed that Four's gaze seemed to linger a little longer than the others. It was surprising how easily everything came to me during AP Calc. Christina came huffing and puffing down the hallway to try and find me, but since I knew the general direction of the lunchroom I was able to meet her nearly halfway.

Christina was out of breath when she reached me. "I thought you played basketball?" I asked jokingly.

"Yeah," Christina panted. "But you're the one that can run, not me." When I raised an eyebrow at her she added, "Did I not tell you that you run cross country? Or that you play softball? Or that softball starts next week?"

My eyes widened. "You neglected to tell me any of that."

"I knew that there was something that I wasn't telling you. Don't worry, I'm on the softball team with you and I already talked to Coach about you. He'll give you as much time as you need."

We discussed softball more in depth during the walk. Once we got our lunches and sat down with the rest of the group, the conversation quickly shifted.

"Tris, I'm so happy that you and Matthew are broken up," Uriah announced loudly. "Now we can be open and honest about our secret relationship that we've been having behind his back."

Everyone at the table burst into fits of laughter, except me. I looked from person to person, trying to figure out what the joke was. Even Four was chuckling audibly at what Uriah had said.

"Excuse me?"

Christina could barely get her words out she was laughing so hard. "Ma-Matthew thought… he thought you… you and Uriah were… were sleeping together!" She wheezed.

My eyes widened at the thought. I turned and scanned the cafeteria for Matthew. When I finally spotted him his eyes locked onto mine and a shade of pink covered his cheeks. I just smirked and turned back to my friends.

"God, he just keeps getting more and more ridiculous," I said, finally joining in on the laughter.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

After lunch Will, Christina, Four, and I set off towards our anatomy class. Christina was busy talking to Will about an upcoming date of theirs and left Four and I to walk in silence. When we got to class we sat down at a table together, and with Christina still chatting away, Four leaned closer to me.

"I'm sorry about leaving you in the hallway earlier," he said in a way that made me think he wasn't actually sorry at all.

"Don't worry about it," I replied. "I just want to be able to remember again and do stuff without a babysitter."

"I don't blame you," he said politely. "You're stuck in a shadow that you can't step out from." His voice had the slightest hint of bitterness in it; so slight that I thought I might've imagined it. I looked at him with a raised eyebrow, but didn't say anything about it. That's when I noticed a light shade of purple along the angle of Four's jaw.

"What happened to you face?" I questioned.

Four immediately averted his gaze and his fist clenched on the table. "Weightlifting accident," he said with a tone that made it clear that the conversation was over.

I looked down at my notebook and was deep in thought. I knew better than to push the subject, but my curiosity was getting out of control. It took a lot of self-control to not blurt out that I thought that was bullshit. A reaction like that made it obvious that it was a little more than a weightlifting accident.

I settled for a, "You should be more careful then," and from the corner of my eye I could see that the smirk was back.

"I'll work on that," he muttered. Four was such a strange guy. It was like there was a cloud of mystery around him that was nearly impenetrable. I don't know why, but I wanted to get past it. I hardly knew the guy, but he was irritatingly intriguing. However, I was not about to be one of those girls who tries to save the damaged boy.

Anatomy went by slowly. At the end, we were assigned a project in which we were required to make a poster explaining the functions of specific body systems. Our teacher informed us that we'd have a partner and that it was the person sitting next to us. I sighed and looked at Four, and he turned towards me as well.

"So, when should we meet?" I asked.

"Do you have a study hall?"

I shook my head, and Four rolled his eyes.

"Of course not," he said. "Well, just text me later and we'll set up a time."

He stood up and started to walk away.

"Do I even have your number?" I called after him, trying to lengthen my strides to catch up to him.

"Yes, you do. We've worked on projects together before." He informed me.

"Okay, my house or yours?" I asked.

"Yours," he quickly answered.

"We can figure out a time later then."

Four nodded and the rest of the walk was in silence. When we both walked into the room, a pair of eyes gazed at us curiously. It was Matthew. Up till now, I hadn't had any classes with him due to the fact that he was a senior and I was a junior, but Psych was commonly taken by both classes. Four stepped in front of me, blocking Matthews's view of me.

"Come on," he muttered quietly.

I felt Matthews gaze follow me all the way to my seat. The thing that I couldn't stop thinking about, however, was how Four had stepped in front of me almost instinctively, as if he was being protective. He was surprising me more and more as the day went on.

We sat down at the same table, and a few seconds later Christina walked in with Will. When she saw Matthew she shot him an icy glare and stalked past.

"God, I forgot he was in this class," Christina huffed. "We're lucky that Lauren is sick today. I know that when she comes back there's going to be a load of drama to deal with."

I figured out that that's why today seemed to be going by a little too smoothly. I didn't think that I would have the patience to deal with Lauren when she came back. From what I've heard, she's a real pain in the ass aside from being Matthews's mistress. I couldn't care less about the two of them being together, but that didn't mean I wanted her to rub it in my face all day.

"We'll deal with her later. Calm down," said Will calmly, giving Christina a smile.

Christina mumbled something that I assumed was not suitable to be said out loud. I smiled at her and even Four shook his head in an amused manner. The teacher walked in and immediately quieted all conversation.

I made sure to take careful notes throughout the lesson. It seemed that this unit was somewhat difficult. When the bell finally rang, I packed up my stuff and got ready to walk out. Four was waiting for me, and we walked out of the room together.

It was odd. He waited for me, but was not trying to strike up a conversation. We walked all the way to my locker before he eventually spoke.

"Don't forget to text me," he said. "We need to figure out when to do our project."

"Thanks for reminding me," I told him.

Four nodded at me and then walked away. I quickly grabbed any homework I had for the night and looked around for Christina. She had told me that she would meet me at my locker after class, and then we'd go back to my house to do homework.

"Tris!" a voice yelled. I turned and saw Christina's bobbing head walking towards me among the sea of students. "Ready to go?" she asked once she reached me. I nodded and we set off towards the parking lot.

When we got back to my house, we found that we were the only ones there. Secretly, I was relieved. Natalie and Andrew were being unbelievably supportive, but they couldn't hide their sadness very well. When I saw the way they looked at me, guilt coursed through me, and it felt as if weights were being placed upon my shoulders.

After grabbing a few snacks, Christina and I went upstairs to my room to start on our homework. It was only about ten minutes later that Christina slammed down her pencil and announced, "I need a break!"

I chuckled at her and turned my attention away from my calculus homework. "Have you even gotten one question answered?" I asked her.

She huffed and said, "Yes I have! I've actually gotten-" She quickly glanced down at her paper, "two questions done!"

"Well that changes everything! Of course we can take a break now!" I meant to say that in a sarcastic manner, but Christina took it literally.

"Great!" She turned her chair to face me. "I've been meaning to ask you something."

"Fire away."

"What was going on with you and Four today?" She asked, her eyes boring into me.

I felt my face slip into a confused state. "What do you mean?"

"You guys have never exchanged more than two words at a time before today. I mean, none of us really have except Zeke and Uriah. You two were chatting up a storm today. I want to know why."

I looked at her incredulously. "You were the one who assigned him to walk me to class today, remember? Did you want us to walk in complete silence?"

"I asked him to walk you to one class, and you didn't even go with him. You two were talking in other classes and he walked you to several others." Christina pointed out.

My head was spinning, mainly because I was starting to get a headache, but also because I was trying to figure out a way to get Christina to stop trying to make something out of nothing.

"He was just being nice," I insisted. "There was an issue with Matthew in the morning so maybe he was just making sure it didn't happen again. And we have to do an Anatomy project together, so there's that as well."

"Wait, take a step back." Christina ordered. "There was an issue with Matthew this morning? And you didn't tell me?" There was a hurt look in her eyes as she spoke.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you," I said genuinely. She was still glaring at me. "It wasn't a big deal and I just kind of forgot about it. When I was at my locker before 1st period, he came up behind me and started talking. I said something that made him mad and he started to take a step towards me, but Four came up and made him back off."

"Do you think he was going to attack you or something?" Christina asked, her eyes wide.

"I don't think so," I replied honestly. "I think I just made him mad. Anyways, Mr. Kang thought I got lost or something so he sent Four to look for me and get me to class. I probably should mention that Four carried my bags as well, so you have more proof that something is up."

Christina frowned at me. "Tris, you don't remember him. This is completely out of character. Or at least, it's not any type of character I've seen from him before. I'm just curious!"

"He's just being polite, that's all." I insisted. "But thanks for bringing him up actually, I forgot that I needed to text him."

"Text him? Why do you need to text him?" Christina asked excitedly.

I rolled my eyes at her enthusiasm. "We have an anatomy project that we need to do, and since I don't have a study hall we'll need to do it after school sometime."

"His house or yours?"

"Mine. Four insisted."

"Dang it!" Christina exclaimed. "No one's ever been to his house before; not even Zeke. I was hoping that he'd have you over so that you could fill us in on what it's like. His house is huge! Perks of being the mayor's son, I suppose."

"He's the mayor's son?"

Christina nodded vigorously. "He actually doesn't live too far from here, but for some reason he never lets anyone come over. Zeke and Uriah showed up randomly one day, but no one even answered the door. They said it was strange since he should've been home."

I pictured Four sitting in his room, ignoring the knocks coming from the door. It didn't seem right. Even though he had a broody exterior and seemed very unapproachable, not answering the door when he was home just didn't seem like something that he would do.

Shaking the thought from my head, I reached into the drawer of my nightstand and grabbed my phone. I opened up my messages and quickly answered a few text messages from various people before opening up a new thread with Four.

 _ **Hey, it's Tris. Did you figure out a good time to do our project?**_

I set my phone aside and went back to my Calculus homework. The assignment wasn't difficult so as long as Christina withheld from distracting me it wouldn't take too long. I had barely gotten through the next question when my phone pinged. I reached for it and saw that Four had replied.

 _ **How does tomorrow at 6 sound?**_

"Is there anything going on tomorrow night?" I asked Christina.

She thought about it for a moment before shaking her head. I sent my reply back to Four.

 _ **Tomorrow at 6 would be great. Do you need my address?**_

I waited for a moment to see if he'd reply right away. When he didn't, I set my phone back down and resumed working. I was able to finish my Calculus and start the reading for my history class before he finally replied.

 _ **I've been to your house before, so no. See you tomorrow.**_

I should've figured he'd been here before. I didn't bother replying and went back to my reading. Christina, who was struggling to stay focused, sighed and looked up at me.

"So when are you and Four meeting up?" she asked.

"Tomorrow night."

"You're going to have to tell me all about it." Christina insisted.

"We're working on a project, calm down." I snapped. I knew I shouldn't have been so short with her, but she was getting frustrating to deal with. Nothing was going to happen, no matter how much Christina thought something was.

Christina didn't respond, probably sensing that I was done talking about Four. The rest of the night was fairly quiet, apart from me helping Christina with a problem occasionally. When she finally left, with a promise to come back early in the morning again, it was almost 10. I sighed and grabbed a bath robe and headed towards the bathroom to shower. It was a quick one, seeing as I had no hair to wash, but the streams of water effectively wiped off the stress from today. Once I was back in bed, Natalie knocked on the door and poked her head in.

"I know it's late, but I just wanted to see how you were doing," she said with a smile.

"I doing okay, thank you," I said politely. "School was good today. Also, I have a friend that needs to come over tomorrow so we can work on a project."

"Thanks for letting me know," Natalie replied. "I'll let you get back to bed now. Good night!"

She closed the door and left me to my thoughts. I thought about Matthew, and his actions this morning. When I thought of him, I thought of the girl he was cheating on me with. Lauren. Obviously I didn't remember her, but she was supposed to be back at school tomorrow, so there was bound to be some sort of confrontation. Then I thought about Four, how he stepped protectively in front of me when he saw Matthew in our last class of the day. Naturally, the thought of Four made me picture his eyes. The deep pools of blue that threatened to suck me in. It was going to be a challenge to not just stare at his eyes tomorrow.

Lastly, I thought about what Christina had been going on about all night; how the way Four was acting was not normal. I felt an unusual spike of emotion at the thought that he only acted that way around me. I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was. Did I want something to happen between the two of us? Did he?

I pushed the thought from my head. He was just being friendly. And besides, there was no way anything was going to happen with me looking the way I did.

I turned off my lamp and let sleep take the thoughts away.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

As promised, Christina showed up bright and early the next morning. I had already picked out my own outfit though, to her dismay. She set to work on doing my make-up, commenting on how my bruise looked a little bit better and wouldn't need so much covering up. By the time she finished, we still had nearly half an hour before we needed to leave.

"Do you think your mom will make pancakes again this morning?" Christina asked excitedly as we sat on my bed.

"She's not here," I answered. "She got called in early to the hospital for some emergency surgery. We can make our own pancakes though."

"I was hoping you'd say that," Christina replied, jumping off the bed and rushing downstairs to the kitchen. By the time I had followed her down there, the kitchen was already a mess. There was pancake mix all over the counter and Christina was whisking furiously. Then I noticed that Caleb was sitting at the counter as well, laughing.

I took a seat next to him and asked, "So, you want some pancakes?"

"As long as they're not from that batter," he laughed, gesturing to a puddle of pancake mix on the floor.

I groaned and got up to grab a roll of paper towel. As I looked around, I realized that Christina had quite literally gotten the batter _everywhere._ It was all over the countertop, the floor, appliances that were nowhere near the stove, and somehow, on the wall as well. "Christina, you are _never_ making pancakes here again," I informed her.

She ignored me. Christina was at the stove, frying pan in hand and humming a tune that I did not recognize. "First batch is ready!" She sang, sliding a plate with a stack of perfectly round pancakes on it. I slid the plate in front of Caleb and he smiled at me in thanks. As I waited for my own pancakes, I continued cleaning up the kitchen, and thinking about the upcoming school day.

Lauren was most likely going to be there. It was unlikely that her sickness would keep her away for another day, but one could hope for such a miracle. Matthew had been enough of a chore yesterday, so adding Lauren to the equation was surely going to add an extra ounce of fun to the day. My strategy as of now was to just act unbothered by the pair. If I showed them that their being together did not affect me in the slightest, it would hopefully take the edge off and deflate them.

"Your turn Tris," Christina announced, shaking me from my thoughts. She slid another plate of pancakes over. I added a liberal amount of syrup to the stack and dug in. Despite the mess she had made, Christina sure knew how to make pancakes. Soon, the kitchen was filled with a happy silence as the three of us munched on our pancakes. Once we were done, we loaded the plates into the dishwasher and grabbed our bags.

"I'll see you later," Caleb said, giving me a smile. He hurried out of the door, leaving Christina and I by ourselves.

"Ready?" Christina asked shortly after we heard Caleb pull out of the driveway. I nodded and we walked out of the house and got into her car. A few minutes into the drive, Christina turned to me and asked, "What are you going to do about Lauren?"

"I'm torn between either taking the high road or having some fun with her. Is it possible that I could do both?"

Christina laughed. "I think so. Maybe a little humiliation will put her in her place. Did I ever tell you what you said to her the day before your accident?"

I shook my head which prompted Christina to explain how I spilled the beans on a certain hookup of Laurens. I must have been pretty angry at the moment to release that kind of information to the whole lunchroom.

"Wow, I doubt that she's going to be happy with me," I remarked.

"Oh God no, she's furious. She was looking for you all morning on Monday, ranting about how she was going to teach you a lesson for embarrassing her. When someone finally told her what happened, she actually smiled and then settled down. It was sickening. Nobody but Matthew and his cronies even talk to her anymore. They all know what an awful person she is." Christina explained.

I felt my eyes widen in shock. Suddenly, taking the high road seemed like it was going to be a lot more difficult than I originally thought. If this girl was so hell-bent on getting some sort of revenge, simply ignoring her was not going to cut it. A part of me was now really nervous at the prospect of facing Lauren. I didn't want to fight, not that I was in any condition to, but it seemed that this kind of ending was inevitable.

"Don't worry Tris," Christina said softly, sensing my sudden unease. "She's not going to do anything to you. We won't let her. I will set up a neighborhood watch for you around the clock. I will handcuff Four to you myself to make sure you're protected."

I managed to let out a small laugh. "I appreciate the offer Christina, but I don't think we need to go that far. Handcuffs are a little much; besides, where would we even get some?"

Christina flashed a wicked grin, and when I finally figured out what she was smiling about I nearly gagged. That was some information that I did not need to know. By the time I finished fake-puking and Christina was done laughing, we were at school. I took in a deep breath and opened the door. Even though I had no idea who I was looking for, I found myself scanning the faces of all the students. So far none of them seemed to be looking for me as well.

Zeke and Uriah joined us shortly after we got out of the car. They cracked some jokes about my hair that were only funny because they were coming from them. The four of us entered the school, still no sign of Lauren. Christina double checked that I would be okay by myself, and I assured her that the trip from my locker to 1st period was short enough to hopefully avoid an interaction. We said our goodbyes and I headed to my locker. To my surprise, somebody was already standing at my locker waiting for me.

Four.

I made sure to keep the surprise off my face as I approached him. When he saw me his signature smirk appeared; I gave him a small smile in return.

"Good morning," I greeted, trying to keep my tone even.

"Morning," he replied quietly. Four waited silently as I opened up my locker and retrieved my things. Once I had everything, I closed my locker and saw that Four was holding out his hand. I stared at it for a second before realizing that he wanted to take my bag. I smiled at him and slung my bag over my good shoulder and started walking towards the classroom. I heard him chuckle as he followed after me.

"I'm not sure I've ever met anyone as stubborn as you, Tris," he commented. His voice was low, as if his words were only meant to be heard by me, and absolutely no one else. My head was starting to spin a little bit, and I knew it had nothing to do with my injury.

I composed myself enough to say, "I try." Four chuckled again and we continued on to class.

Throughout 1st period, I found myself sneaking glances at Four. Each time I'd snap my eyes back to the teacher and try to force myself to pay attention. It would only work for a few minutes. This boy was just so mysterious. His cold exterior seemed to have cracks in it, cracks that were opening up for me, but why? We hadn't been close before my accident, so what changed? And most importantly, why did I care so much? What was it about this guy that was drawing me in?

I was so inside my own head that I barely heard the bell ring. I scrambled to shove my things in my bag quickly, and waiting ever so patiently for me was Four, with that damn smirk plastered on his face. With a glare, I stood and walked past him.

"So we aren't going to the lunch room for English today?" Four asked as he followed me to our 2nd period class.

I clenched my jaw and forced myself to stare straight ahead. "I guess I'm not hungry this morning."

Something about my tone must have warned him not to speak anymore. That was okay because I was completely fine walking in silence. When we got to the classroom he pulled me aside just before we walked through the door. He glanced around us before looking down at me, meeting my puzzled gaze.

"I just thought I should warn you that Lauren is in this class with us." Four said softly. His eyes were locked on mine, scanning for my reaction. I closed mine briefly and let out a breath before reopening them. He was still gazing at me intently and I felt my stomach do a flip.

"Thank you," I told him. "I appreciate you not letting me step into a mine field completely blind."

Instead of buying into my morbid attempt of humor, he simply nodded and led me into class. Christina was already at her seat and was waving me over animatedly. I sat down in the seat beside her and Four took the desk behind me.

"She not here yet," he whispered gently. I nodded slightly to let him know that I had heard him, and turned my attention to Christina who was going off on a tangent of some sort. I half paid attention, making sure to keep one eye on the door at all times. Uriah walked in and I smiled at him as he waved, but immediately focused my gaze to the girl entering behind him. She had long, dark brown hair that was pulled back into a ponytail. Her shirt was cropped questionable short, especially for it only being early March. There were heavy black streaks of eyeliner and an almost scary looking piercing in her eyebrow. When her eyes locked with mine I knew that this had to be Lauren.

"If she tries anything I swear to God I will end her," I heard Christina mutter not so subtly. But Lauren didn't try anything. There was a shift in her gaze when she saw me, but it seemed to be little more than mild irritation. Either Lauren had gotten over everything sooner than anyone expected, or she was capable of keeping her composure in public. She looked away and took a seat on the other side of the classroom. I turned to Christina, who looked just as surprised as I felt at the lack of confrontation. She just shrugged her shoulders and looked to the teacher who had started talking.

Throughout the class period I kept feeling eyes on me. I knew it was Lauren, but turning to look at her would have been too obvious. I forced myself to pay attention and not think about what was going to happen after this class. When the bell rang I felt my pulse quicken. I wasn't afraid of Lauren, but I was nervous about what she could possibly do.

I glanced over and noticed that Lauren was already up and leaving the classroom, not even sparing a glance my way.

"Don't worry about her," Christina said, everyone else nodding with her. "C'mon, let's go to gym."

While everyone else headed to the locker room to change, I went straight for the bleachers to sit down. It was going to be at least another two weeks before I was cleared for gym class. Suddenly, someone slid next to me, annoyingly close. At first I just thought it was Christina, so I turned to tell her to watch herself. The words never came out though.

"Hey Tris," Lauren hissed, being quiet enough to avoid alerting the teacher. "How's it been?"

I swallowed and took deep breaths to calm myself down. "It's getting better, thanks for asking. I'm sorry, but I don't remember your name." Feigning innocence seemed to be a smart route right now. Lauren leaned in closer, a sickening grin spreading across her face.

"Oh, in time you'll remember, Tris. I'll make sure of it." Lauren was speaking through clenched teeth, obviously trying to reign in her thirst for revenge.

"I look forward to getting to know you again," I replied, forcing my voice to sound pleasant and a smile to form on my lips. Laurens eyes narrowed, and it looked like she was about to say more, but she never got the chance.

"Can we help you Lauren?" asked Christina, who had suddenly materialized in front of us. Lauren jumped back in shock. My friends were creating a large half circle around us.

"Not in the slightest," Lauren said, her voice wavering. She stood abruptly and pushed her way out of the enclosement of people.

"Yeah, you better run," Christina muttered as soon as Lauren was out of earshot. She turned to me, concern present in her eyes. "Are you okay Tris? Did she do anything?"

I shook my head. "No, she just promised me that I'll remember exactly who she is. I just acted like I didn't know who she was. You guys did a pretty good job of scaring her off."

"I consider it a specialty," Christina said proudly. Four smirked at her, and she sent a glare his way. "Okay, okay, it's probably more of a specialty of Four's, but I can be scary too!"

"Yes, you're very scary, babe," Will assured her while giving her a kiss on the cheek. Christina giggled and turned to kiss him. The rest of the group started to poke fun at the pair, but Four took a seat next to me.

"She's about as terrifying as her giggle," Four chuckled.

I laughed along with him, but decided to defend my friend. "You haven't gone shopping with her. You don't know fear until you've had Christina try and shove you into a dress." Four laughed some more, but then shot me a glance. "What?" I asked.

"Have you and Christina gone shopping since you've gotten out of the hospital?" he questioned.

"No, i-I guess maybe I remembered?" I answered quietly, not getting my hopes up that some sort of memory may have manifested.

Four smiled at me, a true, genuine smile, and I felt my heart flutter slightly at the sight of it. I felt myself smiling too.

"You remembered something Tris!" He exclaimed. "It might have been something small, but it's still a start. Guys! Come over here!"

The rest of our friends came over, wondering what all the excitement was about.

"Tris remembered something!" Four explained. Everyone perked up, all at once asking what I had remembered.

"It's nothing huge," I said, full of embarrassment at the sudden flood of attention. "I just remembered the feeling of terror when Christina would drag me on another shopping escapade."

"Ha! I told you all I was scary!" Christina bragged, then suddenly realizing what I had just said. "Tris! You remembered something about me! Oh my god this is fantastic we must go shopping again to see if more memories can pop up we'll go tonight after school-"

"Breathe Christina," Will ordered while laughing at her.

"This is great news Tris," Uriah said, beaming at me.

Everyone took turns congratulating me until the gym teacher blew the whistle, signifying the start of class.

Four got up and put a hand on my shoulder before walking away. I felt myself missing the warmth of his hand after he pulled away.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Christina really wanted to have an all afternoon shopping spree, but her dreams were dashed when I reminded her that Four was coming over to do our anatomy project. She begged and pleaded until I surrendered to one hour of mall time immediately after school ended. Her eyes lit up with so much excitement that I couldn't even pretend to be upset about it.

The rest of the school day had gone surprisingly smooth. With both Matthew and Lauren present, I had expected total chaos to erupt. However, the two resorted to sending glares in my direction when they thought that my friends weren't looking. I think they scared off Lauren for the time being, but I couldn't help but think about her threat.

 _You'll remember, Tris. I'll make sure of it._

It seemed like a promise that Lauren was hellbent on keeping. Keeping my guard up, at least for the next couple weeks, seemed like the best plan. That, and making sure that I don't put myself into a situation that could lead to confrontation.

The second that the final bell rang, Christina was herding me towards my locker as if her life depended on it.

"Calm down, Christina," I said with a laugh. "The mall isn't going anywhere!"

"Tris, I've only got an hour. You may not remember, but an hour's worth of shopping is like a minute to me. I need to squeeze as much time out of this as I possibly can."

I was laughing the entire way to the mall, but the second we got to the actual shopping part, my good mood evaporated instantaneously. Christina was shoving item after item into my unexpecting arms. The thing was, my shoulder wasn't completely healed and it was as if Christina didn't see the sling that was supporting it.

"Christina," I begged as my entire arm started to ache. "Can we please get a cart or a bag or something?"

"Why?" Christina asked into a rack of dresses. She turned and saw me struggling. Her eyes widened and she immediately swooped in to grab the large pile of clothes from my tired arms. "I'm so sorry Tris! I completely forgot about your shoulder! Are you okay?"

With the pressure of the mound of fabric off, I could feel the pain starting to subside significantly.

"I'm fine," I assured her. "My shoulder can't really handle things as heavy as that quite yet."

Christina ran around trying to find a cart while I waited by the accessory section. I didn't have much jewelry at home, but I thought the items were pretty to look at. I reached out to pick out a simple silver bracelet when I felt someone slam into me from behind.

Stars exploded behind my eyes as I felt excruciating pain in my shoulder. I doubled over, gripping at my arm and desperately will the pain to go away. There was some fading laughter in the distance, so while I didn't look up to see who it was, I knew this was intentional.

When the black edges were finally starting to ebb from my vision, I grabbed a clothing rack to support myself and stood up straight. Christina was almost running over to me, asking if I was okay.

I briefly closed my eyes before explaining how someone had rammed into my bad shoulder. After telling her of my suspicions that it had been intentional, Christina's head shot up and immediately starting to look for the culprit.

"That bitch," Christina seethed, seeing someone that I obviously hadn't. "Who has dark hair and likes to steal people's boyfriends in her spare time?"

"You seriously think Lauren did this?" I asked, still rubbing my throbbing shoulder.

Christina shot me an annoyed look that I knew wasn't really directed at me. "Well, considering I can see her over on the other end of the store smirking, I'd say yes. God, she is _so_ lucky I am wearing heels right now or I'd march my way over there and punch her right in the throat."

I looked up and followed Christina's gaze and, sure enough, Lauren was standing over there with some girl I didn't recognize. She was staring at me, a sparkle in her eye that seemed to promise that there was more of this to come. I simply shook my head and grabbed Christina by the elbow, leading her out of the store. "Let's just go. As much as I appreciate your willingness to maim her, a reaction is what she wants. I'm determined not to give her one unless it's absolutely necessary."

Christina finally turned away, fire still present in her eyes. "You know, I like level headed Tris. She doesn't let me do stupid things."

"Did I used to before?" I asked with a chuckle.

My friend sighed. "No, not really. But we used to take turns being the hot head of the group, though it was my turn more often than it was yours." She smiled at me and gestured towards the exit. "C'mon, I'll take you home. Shopping doesn't seem so necessary anymore."

Christina stopped dead in her tracks at her own words. She turned and looked at me, her eyes wide and serious. "If you tell anyone I said that I will deny it."

 **-break-**

After Christina dropped me off at my house, I decided it would be best to have Natalie look at my shoulder, just in case. I decided that it would be better to avoid telling her the truth. She would just worry more, which could end up making things between Lauren and I worse. When I told her that tripped and fell into a rack of clothes, Natalie raised a skeptical eyebrow at me, but didn't try to pry for more information. Luckily, there had been no serious damage done, my shoulder would just be extra sore for a few more days. Natalie just wrapped it up, gave me an ice pack, and sent me on my way.

As I walked up the stairs towards my room, I suddenly remembered that Four was coming over soon. I glanced at my phone to check the time.

5:06

An hour before he would show up. I took that time to tidy up my room and gather all the supplies we'd need for our project. Poster board, construction paper, both tape and glue, depending on what Four would prefer, my laptop to type up notes, and my anatomy book. At 5:50, my phone buzzed.

 _ **On my way.**_

I felt my heart skip a beat. Why was I reacting like this to a simple text? Why did this boy that I barely knew set me on edge so easily? I paced around my room, trying desperately to calm my racing heart. All too soon I heard the doorbell ring and Natalie call for me. I made my way downstairs and the second I saw him my breath hitched. He was just in a black t-shirt and jeans, but he looked… good. I paused on the stairs, my feet refusing to get me any closer to him. When he noticed me watching him, a smirk formed on his face and I quickly snapped out of my trance.

"Hey," I breathed out, trying to keep my voice even. "I've got everything we need upstairs, so uh, come on up I guess."

He nodded at me before turning to Natalie. "Nice to see you again, Mrs. Prior," Four said politely.

"Natalie, please, and likewise." She smiled warmly at him before turning her gaze to me. Natalie raised an eyebrow and asked a silent question. I shook my head and tried to keep from laughing at her insinuation. _No,_ I wanted to say, _he's not_ that _type of friend._

But did I want him to be?

I pushed the question out of my mind. Even if that _was_ something I wanted, there was no way that Four would ever want the same thing. As he approached me, I spun quickly and hurried up the stairs. When we got to my room I heard Four chuckle behind me.

"What?" I asked, turning to look at him.

He shook his head. "Nothing, I just should have figured that you'd have everything we could possibly need for this project out and at the ready. I bought some supplies earlier today, and I guess we don't need them."

I felt my face heat slightly. "Well, if it would make you feel better we could use your stuff instead."

Four laughed again, louder this time. "How about we use half of your stuff and half of mine?"

"Sounds like a good plan," I said with a smile.

I settled down on the floor and opened up my anatomy textbook to the section on the skeletal system. Four sat down beside me and grabbed out his own book along with some of the supplies he'd brought. After we figured out where we wanted to start, and the layout of the poster had been discussed we were able to settle into a quiet rhythm. Occasionally one of us would ask a question, or make a suggestion, but overall the two of us worked well as a team. Only once did I lose my train of thought from the color of his eyes.

Two hours later and we were packing up our things. The project wasn't due till the following Monday, so I offered to keep it here until then. I walked him down the stairs, and when he was about to open the front door he turned and looked at me.

I allowed myself five seconds to try and determine the exact shade of his irises. They were blue, but so blue they were borderline black. It was a peculiar shade that I hadn't seen on anyone else before. They were so easy to get lost in. I wanted to spend hours going over every little detail of them. But my five seconds were up.

I gave him a small smile and he started to move again, opening the door and taking one step outside.

"See you tomorrow, Tris," he said in a low voice.

When he closed the door behind him, I dragged myself back upstairs and hoped the shade of his eyes wouldn't haunt my dreams.

 **-break-**

The next Monday arrived with little difficulty. I was finally able to make some use of my shoulder, though it was still in the sling. The bruises on my face were almost completely faded. My hair was still obscenely short, but it was growing out little by little. Four continued to walk me to class, even though I obviously knew my way around the school. Christina continued to pester me over every little detail about him. Everything seemed to be normal. It seemed like this would be how things were before if I could remember it.

There had been no interactions with Lauren, but that wasn't for a lack of trying on her part. Twice I had seen her start towards my locker after class, only to turn away when she saw that Four was with me. During class I could feel her glare trained on me, but she couldn't goad me into looking at her in the middle of the lecture. Once during gym class, she tried to subtly throw a basketball at me, but Uriah was able to intercept it before it even got near me. But other than that, she hasn't really been able to try anything. I was almost always with somebody else, and when I was alone, Lauren and I never happened to cross paths.

Christina came overall early Monday morning. She had texted me Sunday night and informed me that we would be dressing nicely. When I asked for a reason why, she simply said that she decided that wearing a pretty dress would make me feel better. I wasn't too sure about her logic, but I knew better than to argue about it. Who knows? Maybe she would be right.

So as Christina raided my closet for something up to her high standards, I sifted through the few accessories I had to pair with the outfit. I ended up in a simple white dress with a scattered floral pattern, paired with a simple silver chain and some tan flats. I grabbed my eyeline and mascara and handed it to Christina, knowing she wouldn't trust me to apply it myself. After she was done I looked in the mirror on the vanity and was pleasantly surprised. I wasn't pretty; the thick, angry red scar that lined the right side of my skull wasn't quite covered up by the blonde fuzz of my short hair, light bruises still littered the side of my face, and, overall, none of my features would put me in the category of "pretty." But today, there seemed to be a shift. My eyes, which always seemed to be dull and lifeless, suddenly stood out. They seemed to shine against the pale canvas of my skin, against the thick black pencil that Christina lined around them. Instead of the empty pits of light blue that I was used to, I saw a clear blue sky, full of light. I smiled at myself in the mirror, and saw Christina holding back an _"I told you so"_ behind me.

After a quick breakfast Christina and I left for school. As usual, Four was waiting for me at my locker. Before heading off to her own, Christina leaned over and whispered in my ear.

"Tell me again how there's nothing going on between you two. I find it interesting that he continues to wait at your locker every morning even though you know how to get to class."

I shoved her lightly and she walked away laughing. I shook my head, brushing off her statement. He was just making sure that Lauren wouldn't be able to catch me by myself. That's it. Right?

As I walked up to him, I noticed his eyes widen incrementally. They roamed up my body, but not in the hungry way that guys usually looked at girls that attracted them. I couldn't quite place what it was, but it surprisingly didn't make me uncomfortable. I did, however, feel a slight blush on my cheeks.

"Good morning," Four said, his voice seeming a little strained. I saw him swallow hard and flash of pride ran through me. _I_ was affecting _him._ For once, the roles were reversed, and I felt a sort of power I've never felt before. Forget feeling pretty, I wanted to feel _this_.

"Good morning," I replied, giving him a bright smile. Confidence was pouring through my body in ways that made me feel like someone else. Maybe the old Tris had been this confident. After flashing him another smile, I turned to my locker to gather all my things. I looked up at him and said, "Let's go," and began walking towards class. The walk was silent as usual, until someone called out at us from across the hall.

"Hey Tris! Wearing a dress doesn't make you any less ugly!"

I turn my head and see the guy that my friends have pointed out as Peter several times. They've warned me that he's a dick and will probably give me a hard time, so I've been expecting this. Beside me, I see Four clench his fists, so before he can do anything stupid, I grab his forearm to lead him away.

"And acting like a tool doesn't make you any less pathetic, Peter!" I call back. That earned me a couple chuckles from other students who happened to be around.

We were almost to the classroom when I realized I was still holding onto Four. I quickly let go and desperately tried to keep the heat from rushing to my cheeks. He was still a bit tense, so before we walk in, I pull him to the side.

"You okay?" I ask softly, trying not to sound condescending.

I can see the anger still flaring in his eyes, but he seems to calm down slightly when he meets my eyes.

"Yeah," he mutters, scratching the back of his neck almost nervously. "I just can't stand Peter. He's an idiot, but he has a way of manipulating the teachers so that he gets out of almost any trouble he causes. And he's always been an ass to you, so I guess I just want to teach him a lesson."

I smile warmly at him. It makes my heart flutter at the fact that he wants to defend my honor, even though he knows I can handle myself. Before I can stop myself, my hand is back on his arm. I wasn't too sure when I decided to do that. Both of us looked at my hand and then back at each other. I cleared my throat and hesitantly put my hand back down by my side. "Well, thank you. If I ever need to hire someone to beat him up, I'll call you."

I'm was going for a joke, but my voice sounded a little forced. Once again, I smiled at him, then started to turn into the classroom. Before I got very far, Four leaned down, his lips at my ear.

"You look good, Tris."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Shivers shot up my spine, and for a second my legs forgot how to walk. After a moment of hesitation, I kept walking into the classroom. I looked back at Four and attempted to smile, but I could tell it probably looked forced. There was a light pink tinge on his cheeks, and he wouldn't meet my eyes. I wanted to say something, to reassure him somehow, but the words kept getting caught in my throat. We made our way to our seats, and I couldn't help but feel an awkward tension growing. It carried on through the rest of the day. Four continued to walk me to class, but neither of us made any attempt to speak. Even our other friends, especially Christina, could tell that something was off. During lunch, when both of us were just staring down at our food, pushing it around the tray, Christina grabbed me by the wrist and claimed that she needed to touchup my eyeliner.

The second we got in and Christina checked that no one else was in the bathroom, she cornered me.

"What's going on with you and Four?"

I unconvincingly tried to look puzzled at her inquisition, but I knew it was useless. The awkwardness between the two of us had been very noticeable.

"He just said something earlier, and I didn't know how to respond, so I didn't say anything." I confessed, not meeting Christina's piercing stare.

"What did he say?"

I shuffled my feet, feeling suddenly nervous. I didn't want to share the moment with Christina. It seemed like something that should just stay between Four and I, but I knew that once Christina smelled blood she wasn't giving up until she had what she wanted.

"He told me that I looked good," I relented, meeting her gaze in a sudden bout of nerve. This was something to be happy about. As far-fetched as it seemed, Four was showing a side of him to me that no one else got to see.

Christina squealed with excitement, loud enough to make my ears start ringing. Of course, this news excited her, because it meant that she had been right all along about something brewing between Four and I.

"I told you something was going on! I knew it! This is fantastic!" Christina rambled, getting ahead of herself. She started gushing about being able to go on double dates and other couple related things when I had to put the brakes on.

"Hold on, Christina. We're not dating. It was one compliment and that doesn't mean that it's going anywhere anytime soon. Please stop running circles around me."

Christina took a deep breath and was about to say something else but never got the chance. The door to the bathroom opened and in walked Lauren, along with another girl that my friends had told me was named Molly. When she saw us, Lauren looked me up and down and smirked. She leaned over and whispered something to Molly who started snorting with laughter. Beside me, I felt Christina start to shake with anger, so I spoke before she could blow up on Lauren.

"Hi Lauren, how are you?" I asked, making my voice as sweet as possible.

Lauren narrowed her eyes at me in suspicion, but only for a second. She relaxed and looked at Molly before speaking again.

"Better than your current hair situation," she said, while Molly sniggered beside her.

I forced a smile onto my face. "I know right? Hopefully it grows back fast. I don't think I pull off the look very well, but oh well. What can you do? Have a nice day!" I grabbed Christina's arm and practically dragged her out of the bathroom before she could do anything.

When we were in the clear and walking back to our table Christina finally relaxed. "I don't know how you didn't go off on her. I was ready to rip her head off!" She said hurriedly.

"Kill 'em with kindness," was all I said back to her.

I took my seat next to Four again and gave him a smile when he looked at me, hoping that it seemed genuine. The corner of his lip turned up and I felt a rush of reassurance flow through me. I was still smiling when I turned to my now cold food, not missing the look Christina was now giving me. I just shook my head slightly and grabbed my tray to throw out my only partially eaten lunch.

On the way to Anatomy, Four, who walked beside me, actually spoke.

"You didn't eat much of your lunch. Are you feeling okay?"

I looked up at him, somewhat surprised that he had noticed. "Yeah," I told him. "Christina just took too long fixing my makeup in the bathroom and I really didn't think a cold hamburger was all that appetizing. You don't need to worry."

"I'm always going to worry," he murmured so quietly I almost didn't catch it. My eyes locked with his and I could tell that he meant every word he had spoken. There was a light flutter in my stomach at the concerned look he was giving me. Maybe there actually was something going on between us, I just wasn't sure how I was supposed to approach it. For now, I was just going to let it play out, see where it went.

I put a hand on his arm and gave him a smile as he led the way into the Anatomy classroom.

 **-break-**

While I was at my locker, accompanied by Four, Christina surged through the crowd to reach me.

"Hurry up Tris!" She practically shouted at me. "We have the softball meeting to get to! We can't be late!"

I looked at her in confusion, not at all knowing what she was talking about. Then a flicker of realization flashed in my mind as I remembered her briefly mentioning the softball meeting last week on my first day back. I hurriedly grabbed my homework out of my locker and slammed it shut, only pausing to say a rushed goodbye to Four, who was shaking his head in amusement at Christina's flustered arrival.

"You really need to remind me of these types of things so that we're not always rushing, Christina," I muttered as we walked towards the gym, where the meeting was taking place.

"I'm sorry! I completely forgot about it. I was so busy worrying about Lauren all last week that I just spaced. Will reminded me literally 10 minutes ago." She told me.

The meeting itself didn't take long. It was mostly just about signing up and meeting the coaches. The head coach, a man named Harrison, came up to me after the meeting to discuss the timeline of my return. He knew that it would be at least another week or two before the doctors cleared me for any light physical activity, and before I started physical therapy for my shoulder, but he offered to put together a light workout plan when I felt ready for it. I thanked him for his offer and gladly accepted it. He smiled at me and told me that he was glad that I was getting better before turning away to talk to some of the other players.

I looked around for Christina, since she was my ride home, and I found her speaking to Marlene a few feet away. Making my way over to them, I noticed that Christina seemed irritated.

"What's going on?" I asked as I reached them.

Marlene and Christina looked at each other before addressing me.

"It's Lauren," Marlene sighed. "Last year she said that she was planning on quitting since she didn't get a lot of playing time, but she seemed to have a change of heart. She also brought a few recruits."

I followed her gaze to find Lauren, standing with Molly and another girl whose name was Nita. I didn't know her at all, but apparently she transferred here at semester and had immediately taken a liking to Lauren.

 _Perfect,_ I thought. _Just another person for me to watch out for._

"Lauren probably thinks she has a better chance at being the starting 3rd basemen now that you're out for a while," Christina told me. "She's been your backup since like 6th grade, and she just could never get up to your skill level. I doubt Harrison is going to have any other option unless he decides someone else would be better suited for the job."

"Lynn may be up for switching positions until Tris comes back, but I'm not sure Coach will want to lose her speed in the outfield," Marlene wondered aloud.

I was only half-listening to their conversation. Lauren was whispering something to Molly and Nita while making direct eye contact with me. When she finished speaking, both Molly and Nita turned to look at me. Molly had a sinister smile on her face, while Nita merely had a look of total indifference, as if I wasn't worth her time or attention. Lauren just looked at me with a blank stare, but I could see the flicker of hate in her eyes.

Christina nudged me, causing me to break off the staring contest and turn back towards her.

"Let's go," she muttered. "I don't want them to start something in front of Coach."

Quickly, the three of us left the gym to the relative safety of the hallway. Christina and I walked Marlene to her locker, parted ways, and headed to Christina's locker first. Once she grabbed her things, we stopped at mine. I just had a couple calculus questions to finish up, so I was excited to have an opportunity to go to bed early.

"Since practice starts on Wednesday, how do you plan on getting home?" Christina asked as we walked out to her car.

"Oh, I'm staying for practices." I told her. When she looked at me in surprise, I finished explaining what I had talked to Coach about. "Harrison wants me to stay and watch just so I can get caught up on how the drills work. Then when I can actually do something, we're going to work out a workout plan to ease me back into things. Coach said games won't start for at least another month, so hopefully I won't have to miss too much before I'm back playing."

"Thank God," Christina huffed. "Maybe we won't have to worry about Lauren playing after all. I doubt you'll be back for the first few games, but I think we'll be able to manage her until you do get back."

I managed a chuckle, but my thoughts turned gray when Christina brought up Lauren. She was planning something, and she had help. I was worried about what they could possibly be cooking up. Realistically, they couldn't do anything too drastic without significant consequences, but I didn't know how far Lauren would actually be willing to go.

We were silent throughout the drive. It was nice to just sit there, listening to the music flowing softly through the speakers of Christina's car. I let my head rest back against the seat and soaked in the normality of the moment.

 **-break-**

After what seemed like hours of homework-even though I only had about ten calculus problems to do-I was finally showered and relaxing in bed. I had a book propped up on my lap and was indulging in a little bit of reading. A chime finally made me tear my eyes away from the pages. I looked down at my phone and noticed that I had a new message. From Four.

 _ **Can I come over for a little bit?**_

My breath caught in my throat. What reason did Four possibly have to come over to my house at nine o'clock at night? Regardless of my apprehension, I sent him back a message.

 _ **Sure. Is everything alright?**_

I waited for a few minutes, but no new message showed up. After pacing around the room for a few moments, trying to decide if I should send another message, I sat down and tried to push the growing cloud of worry out of my mind. Four probably just had his phone on silent and hadn't seen the message yet. However, the nature of his message suggested that he would be waiting for a reply right away.

A light tapping sound snapped me out of my thoughts. I looked around, trying to see if something fell and caused the noise. When it happened again, my head snapped around in the direction of the window, which gives me a view of the backyard. Curious, I stood and slowly made my way towards it. I was almost in front of it when a small shape was flung against the glass.

 _A pebble?_

Quickly, I unlatched the lock and lifted the window pane. I stuck my head out the window into the cool night air and saw Four standing below, arm cocked back, another pebble loaded into his hand. His arm froze mid lob when he saw me peek out. The rock fell from his grasp and he walked a bit closer to the house.

"Can I climb up?" he asked quietly.

"Seeing as I don't have any hair to toss down, you're gonna have to," I said cheekily.

There was the quickest of smiles that formed on his lips before his features tightened with concentration. I'm sure Natalie wasn't going to appreciate his shoes dirtying up the white siding of the house, but she probably wouldn't approve of Four coming over so late either, so compromises had to be made.

I stepped back to allow Four space to enter my room. The smile I was wearing quickly turned to a frown, however, when I saw his face. As soon as he turned back towards me after closing the window, I stepped closer to examine him. I didn't get much of a chance though. Footsteps were quickly approaching from down the hall.

Since there was a limited number of hiding spots in my room, I had no choice but to shove Four into my closet. Just as I managed to shut it, there was a knock on my door, followed by Natalie popping her head in.

"I heard you stomping around up here. Everything okay?" She asked, concern plastered over her features.

I let out a sigh of relief before responding. "Yeah, sorry. I was just opening up the window for some fresh air. I'll try to be quieter."

Natalie didn't question me further and just bid me goodnight, leaving just as quickly as she had come. As soon as I couldn't hear her footsteps anymore, I walked back to the closet and let Four come out.

He barely took one step out before I was whisper-yelling at him.

"What the hell happened to your face?"

Four ran a hand through his hair and let out a huff. In the moments before he spoke, I took in the whole extent of his features. There was a cut on his lip, dried blood under both nostrils, and a black eye that was beginning to form. On his eyebrow there was a gash that still had a trickle of blood coming from it.

"Can we please sit down? It's… it's a bit of a story." Four finally said.

I pulled out a chair for him to sit on, then rushed to my bathroom to retrieve the first aid kit. When I walked back towards him, I hesitated for a moment, unsure if he'd appreciate me playing nurse for him. I pushed away any doubts and pulled my chair closer, pulling out the hydrogen peroxide and a few cotton balls.

When I reached for him, he said, "You don't have to do that."

I narrowed my eyes and retorted, "If I don't, you're going to get blood all over my carpet. Just sit still and start talking."

He conceded, wincing when I pressed a soaked cotton ball on the cut on his eyebrow. After I cleaned the rest of the blood off his face, and bandaged up the cut, he finally started speaking.

"Obviously I can't pass this off as another weightlifting accident," he deadpanned.

I rolled my eyes at him, but didn't say anything, wanting him to be able to get the whole story out.

"I… I guess I should start at the beginning." His breathing was already shaky, and he hadn't really even started. I reached out and grabbed his hand, rubbing soothing circles into the back of it, hoping to calm him even just slightly. Four took one more deep breath in and tried to push on.

"My uh, my mother died when I was nine. That's when it started for me. She was no longer there for him to take his anger out on. I tried so hard to protect her, but what can a nine-year-old do against a full-grown man?"

My blood ran cold. What Four was alluding to was… it was absolutely unexpected. I was not prepared for him to reveal that his father, the Mayor of Chicago, had abused his wife and son. Just as I was about to say something, anything, Four continued speaking, his voice getting ragged and hoarse.

"He always told me it was for my own good. He never did elaborate on what that meant. Or maybe he did, and I just couldn't decipher his drunken slurring. When I was still too young to fight back, that was the worst. I felt so helpless, so out of control. I tried so hard to be the perfect son; good grades, sports participation. But it was never enough! I could never please him no matter how hard I tried!"

Four stood suddenly, startling me so much I almost fell out of my chair. He didn't notice, though. He was pacing around my room, words spilling out of his mouth so fast I had to put all my energy into listening so I didn't miss a thing.

"As I got older, more able and willing to defend myself, things changed. It turned more verbal, but every once in a while, if he was drunk enough, he'd take a swing at me. I knew better than to hit back. All I had to do was get the upper hand and force him to retreat. I got better and better at it. Eventually it turned into us not even speaking to each other. That house is big enough for me to hide out and avoid him, but every couple weeks he'll get triggered. He'll come after me. He did tonight. It was the first time I had to hit him back."

Four froze when he realized that his story was finished. Slowly, he turned back towards me.

"And now I'm here."

I stood and inched closer, slowly so as not to startle him. When I noticed his clenched fists and shaking arms, I tentatively reached my arm out and wrapped my hand around his wrist.

"It's okay Four, you're safe here," I murmured, looking right into his eyes to make sure that he understood me.

"Please don't call me that," he whispered.

"What should I call you then?"

He didn't answer right away. His eyes scanned my face, searching for something.

"What are you looking for?" I questioned.

"Pity." He replied, eyes never leaving mine. "But I can't find any."

I stopped breathing when his lips found mine.


End file.
